Harboring Among Us
by sofalofa
Summary: Once that plane hit the ground, there was no turning back. A gifted, young FOX agent finds herself on a survival mission when her first special-ops assignment is compromised. Who knew that survival of the fittest was definitely easier said than done? Takes place Pre MGS3: Snake Eater and will follow through to MGS: Peace Walker and MGSV: The Phantom Pain. OFC story!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the MG/MGS franchise!**

 **Author's note: Hello! Welcome to 'Harboring Among Us'! This is a rated M story! So here is my pre-warning: There are going to be multiple adult situations, language, violence, and other shenanigans. So please, read with a mature mind and at your own risk!**

 **Chapter Warning: Mentions of assault.**

 **Now that THAT'S over with! Here is the first chapter; I hope you guys enjoy :3**

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 **"A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step"**

 **-Lao Tzu**

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Stirring up from her slumber from the night before; a loud, and rather annoying alarm rang through the room. Adjusting to the darkness of the room, the young woman stared at the ceiling, toning out the agitating beeping. Monday, May 11, 1964, 2 A.M.. Only 3 hours before departing on the mission that would change her life forever. She brought up her right hand and roughly rubbed her eyes, then slipped her arm to hit the Sony brand alarm clock to the right of her bed. Not a moment later, the phone rang. Letting out a yawn, she swung her half-naked body over the side of the bed and let her feet rest on the soft carpet below here. She slowly stood up, making her way to the phone that was sitting on a near-by wooden dresser. Wrapping her fingers around the neck of the device she placed the surface to her right ear. "Good morning Agent Matthews, this is your wake up call." A British man sounded from the other side of the line.

"Bright and early, Major." She joked fidgeting the phone-chord between her fingers.

"Get your tea while you can. Your power will be turned off in a half hour and you will have no access to electricity or water."

"Got some _coffee_ brewing already." She lied.

"And don't forget to bring the telephone with you."

"Got 'cha."

"It wouldn't hurt to hear a 'yes sir' from you every now and then, Lydia." The Major lightly laughed at her slight insubordination, contradicting his statement by using her first name.

" _Now_ who's the informal one? Goodbye Major." She smiled and hooked the phone back onto the bulky machine. She bent down and unplugged the phone's power-cord and cable from the outlet, then walked back to her bed and unplugged the clock. Standing up straight she walked to the closet in the small bedroom and grabbed a knee-high, sleeveless, brown dress and slipped it over her head. Lydia made her way back to her dresser while zipping up the dress that was placed on her back. She examined her slightly toned body in the mirror with her bright green eyes. Her long straight blonde hair hung to her mid-back. She eyed the make-up that was conveniently placed on the top of the dresser. This was really the last day she could get ready for work, so why not? Lydia pulled out a chair and grabbed a casing of translucent powder and a puff, lightly dabbing her face and neck. Her skin was already fair and slightly texture-free, so there wasn't really a need for too much; she liked the "natural" look anyway. Setting the powder down, she snatched a small brush and a black liquid, drawing a thin, upper eye line with a small wing. A thin layer of mascara was applied next to finish the look. "Here we go."

Lydia stood up from the chair and walked into the kitchen; opening up the refrigerator to grab a half-gallon of milk. She placed that on the counter next to her and grabbed ingredients for the best breakfast on the face of the planet! There was nothing like starting off the day with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a tall glass of milk. When she was done with her magnificent breakfast she slipped on some brown, calf-high boots that were sitting by the front-door of her apartment. Her generic tote hanging by the door soon made it into her right hand, while she placed the left of the door-knob. Lydia looked back toward her empty-apartment she was going to leave behind. She couldn't help but feel she was forgetting something… _Oh yeah._ She jogged back to her bedroom and grabbed the telephone, stuffing it in her purse. _Don't want to forget that, the Major would kill me._ She jogged back to the front door and unlocked the bolt, soon swinging the door open and walking out. Turning around she locked the door again with her key and stuffed it into her bulky purse.

"Lydia…" A gruff voice from behind her caught her by surprise. She tensed up and jumped around. Meeting green eyes, she placed her hand to her chest and sighed. "Good to see you."

"Jack, oh my God you scared the crap out of me."

"Figuratively, or?" He wore a classic, smug grin on his face.

Lydia rolled her eyes and stuck out her hand. "Good to see you too." Jack reached forward to return the gesture. He was wearing brown pants, a black button-up collard shirt, and a brown blazer. The top three buttons of his shirt were casually undone, giving him more of a masculine look. To only add to his testosterone level…it looked like he hadn't shaved in a few days.

"Did we coordinate our colors, or what?" She let go of his hand and placed both her hands on her hips.

"You're such a kid." He grunted and held out his right arm. "Besides, the Major sent me to escort you, although I know well enough you could take care of yourself."

"Well, there could be a chance a creep could sneak up behind be." Lydia winked, which made him sigh and begin to guide her forward.

"Let's just get going." Jack had been Lydia's mentor for the two years she's been employed with the Major's FOX unit through the CIA. At sixteen, Lydia was recruited by Major Oh during college due to her intellect and maturity. She was a grade-A genius that was proved through standardized tests, puzzles, and written coding. Being a woman and graduating from high school at sixteen, then immediately moving on to a university was nearly unheard of. Like her mentor, Lydia was an excellent tactical expert behind the scenes when given the opportunity. Although she didn't have any 'real-world' experience on a true field mission, now at eighteen years old, today was the day to redeem herself and show everyone what she's made of! Jack's rigorous physical training regimen made her ready for anything that came her way. The Major thought it was finally appropriate to send her on a real mission to a disclosed location.

Once they reached the CIA base, Jack led her to a room where she could get changed into more appropriate attire. Within the room, Lydia found brown combat boots, with dark green camouflage pants and a black tank-top. She slipped off her dress and put on the uniform that was provided for her. Once fully clothed, she stepped out of the room and spread out her arms. "So, how do I look?"

Jack had a light smile on his face. "Like a real soldier." He narrowed his eyes. "The rest of your gear should be on the plane."

"Rodger." Lydia nodded with a smile. Jack extended his right arm to signal her in the direction of her next destination. With another nod, Lydia walked down the white hallway toward stairs that would lead her to the hangar that homed the plane she was to take to her destination. After a while of strolling, they reached the garage where her plane was parked. There, she saw the Major with a pilot and one other agent awaiting her arrival.

"Hello there, Agent." Greeted the Major.

"Major." She greeted back.

"Inside the plane you'll find the rest of your gear. I'll be in contact with you over radio. Your pilot here will let you know your destination and brief you on the mission details."

"Rodger."

"Now you will have to surrender your bag to me, and don't worry, the agency will take close care of your apartment home." The Major held out his hand to take the bag she brought that carried the phone. Lydia handed it over with a sigh. "Good luck, Matthews." The Major extended his right hand for a shake, which was confidently received by Lydia.

"Sir." She shook his hand and let go as he drifted beside her toward the exit of the garage.

"Are you sure you're ready for this, kid?" Voiced Jack from behind her.

Lydia turned around with a grin and made eye contact. "As ready as I'll ever be. Hey, if I'm heroic enough I might get a fancy ribbon." She lightly punched him in his left arm with her right.

"Hmph, don't get cocky. This _is_ your first mission after all."

"Yessir." She smiled and looked down at the ground, she could feel her nerves start to rise.

"Hey." Jack placed a consoling hand on her right shoulder. "You got this, kid. Good luck." "There's no such thing as luck on the battle-field, remember?" She weakly smiled.

"That was a test, I'm glad you remembered. Go get 'em kid." He patted her shoulder once, which made her brighten up a bit.

"Thanks, Jackie." She turned around and jumped on the stairs, through the door, and into the plane. Not too far behind her was the pilot. She looked around for a bit before spotting a seat behind the pilot's chair. She sat on the leather seat and buckled her belt, mentally preparing herself for departure.

"Alright Agent, once we're in the air, I'll let you know when it's safe to walk around. Please be wary of turbulence, we are in for a long flight."

"I'm ready when you are." Her stomach felt like it was filled with butterflies, her nerves were driving her crazy. _Come on, Lydia, you can do this._ She took a deep breath as the plane started up. Closing her eyes, she felt the plane accelerate out of the compound and moments later, they were up in the air. She opened her eyes and looked out a small, circular window that was to the right of her. The sky was still dark as they ascended beyond the clouds. About ten minutes into flight, the pilot finally spoke.

"Alright, Agent you are good to walk around and help yourself to some food that's in the corner to your right. Although we still have a long ways to go so I don't suggest putting on your gear just yet."

"Ok, proceed with the briefing please, Agent-" Lydia responded.

"Klein Davis." He interrupted before she could ask his name. " Let's cut to the chase. This is an assassination mission." Surprised with the objective, Lydia blinked a few times before the man continued. "In the secured box to your left is a file with your target. His name is Dr. Aleksandr Leonovitch Granin. Other intelligence states that this scientist has been working on some pretty dangerous equipment."

"Like what?"

"That information was not given to me. So let's just assume that it's some pretty nefarious stuff that may have to do with nuclear warfare."

"Got it, so by his name, I'm assuming we're heading for the USSR?"

"Tselinoyarsk to be exact. We're going to descend about half an hour away from our target. Once we're landed, you're all on your own. You will infiltrate a fortress called Groznyj Grad. That was apparently the last location the doctor was in, so our best bet is to start there. The fortress is hard to miss…but good thing is, you should be able to see if from high ground. If there is anything noteworthy about your target and the projects he's working on, please make sure to brief the Major on your findings." Lydia reached for the box and pulled out the file, which contained a black and white photo of the old doctor, highly unattractive, but he looked like he knew his stuff.

"Do they want me to interrogate the guy before I take him out?"

"That would be advised, but if worse calls for worse, you know what to do."

"Got it."

"Now, one more thing. If you are caught or captured at any moment and the enemy finds out who you are, in a nutshell, the United States will deny your existence; you and your mission will be considered as compromised."

"Sounds good enough." Lydia shifted in her chair while flipping through the pages in the file. After skimming over a few items, she looked at the back of the pilot's head. "So, anything else I should know?"

"Yeah, I suggest you get some sleep Agent; it's going to be a long flight."

"Alright Davis, catch you in a few hours." Lydia repositioned herself in her seat so she was a little more comfortable. She lolled her head to the right and glared out the window again, trying to calm herself down so sleep would eventually take her. But, all she could think about was home. She scoffed to herself as the thought of her mentor, Jack, crossed her mind. _"What, homesick already, kid?" Oh I could hear him now._ Lydia rolled her eyes and set her sights to the darkness again. The two years she spent training with him were catching up to her. Thinking of the memories, she shut her eyes. In no time, sleep engulfed her consciousness.

* * *

 _Three knocks on her apartment door woke her up, bright and early. "Seriously?" An agitated groan escaped from the depths of Lydia's throat. She swung her legs over the side of her bed and slipped on some cotton pants and a large shirt. Lydia waltzed over to her door and pressed her ear against the wood. "Who is it?" No answer. A few seconds of silence passed before she lifted her ear away from the door and shrugged to herself. She placed her hand on the knob and opened it. Nobody, just as she expected from the silence. "Was I hearing things?" She poked her head out of the doorway and looked left and right, seeing if there were any knock-knock-ditching kids running about - but there was no one in sight. "Alright then."_

 _"-True to you, In this whole world - " Music suddenly sounding off from the radio in her bedroom made her jump. 'What's going on?' She thought to herself as she tip-toed toward her bedroom. Creeping into the room she walked closer to the radio that was playing Soldier Boy. "Strange, must've turned on by itself." With her right hand, she reached forward to turn down the volume, but her hand was stopped short when something latched on her wrist. "AH!" Her right arm was twisted behind her back while a sleeved arm snuck across her neck in a choke-hold, and in the hand, a knife. She felt the poking of facial hair on her neck as the assailant breathed lightly by her left ear._

 _"What's your association with the CIA?" She just got hired into the CIA last month, had she made enemies already?!_

 _"What are you talking about, who are you?" The edge of the knife was pressed closer to her neck._

 _"Who do you work for?" His rough voice was more threatening this time and her right arm twisted farther behind her back. Lydia let out a small wine as she felt her shoulder almost pop out of place. "Speak!" She was shifting her eyes and saw that her bedroom window was open and let out a weak chuckle._

 _"The one time I leave my window unlocked is the one time someone breaks in, how stupid of me."_

 _"Do you think I'm being funny?" Her arm twisted more._

 _"Funny that you think I'm someone important. Ahhh- I don't know who you're talking about."_

 _"Bullshit." The knife was getting dangerously close to breaking her skin. "You work for the CIA, Lydia Matthews, I know everything about you."_

 _"What the fuck? Are you dreaming creep? I'm not even old enough to get a real job!" She retaliated. "You've got the wrong person!" She felt the man start to walk and drag her across the room, so she was facing the bed. He removed his hands and pushed her back hard, making her fall to the bed. As her weight hit the mattress, she quickly turned over to get a look at the man. The knife was sheathed in a holster on his black pants. Her green eyes traced up to his torso that was covered with a dark green button-up shirt. Once her sight landed on his face, his light green eyes pierced through her own._

 _"I could easily threaten you with rape or even slit your throat with ease." His voice was low and grumbled, probably from smoking so much. "You're not even making an attempt to guard yourself, even after I made that last move." He crossed his arms over his chest. "You have no self-defense maneuvers - I mean, a kid like you should know something. Not to mention you're so…scrawny." Lydia found herself a mix of disgusted, embarrassed and confused as she raised an eyebrow at the assailant. "The Major was right, I do have my work cut out for me." He sized her up._

 _"Major?" She questioned. "Wait. . ." She heard three knocks on her front door and made her jump again._

 _"Hnnn, you should probably get that." At the mention of the Major, she felt a little more at ease. But what if it was another assailant at the door? Was it ok for him to be trusted? She narrowed her green eyes at him. "Don't worry agent, I'm not going to hurt you." He held up both of his hands in surrender._

 _"Give me your knife." She demanded. The man took one step toward her until she interrupted his movement. "Nuh-uh. Drop it and its sheath on the ground and kick it toward me." Don't you come near me, creep." There were three more knocks on the door and he unhooked the holster from his belt and proceeded with her request. She stood up from the bed and picked up the knife that was now laying at her feet._

 _"Thank you." She rolled her eyes and walked through her small kitchen to reach the front door. Once she opened it; the doorway revealed Major Oh with a goofy smile on his face._

 _"Good morning Agent." He nodded at her and eyed the knife in her hand. "Oh, what do we have here? Did you already get acquainted with Jack?"_

 _"Yes Major." Sounded off 'Jack' from the doorway of her bedroom._

 _"Splendid!" His British accent rolled off his tongue smoothly. "May I come in?" He eyed Lydia._

 _"Sure, I mean I'm pretty popular this morning." She stood out of his way and motioned for him to come in. "Coffee anyone?"_

 _"Tea, if you have it."_

 _"You're so British it's hilarious, Major." Lydia retorted back. "No, I don't have any, sorry."_

 _"You are so American for not having it." He chuckled back in good humor. "Lydia, we have some things to discuss."_

 _"I can see that." She eyed the scruff man that was leaning on her bedroom door frame. "What's up with this guy?" He let out a grunt._

 _"This, is Jack. He's a dear friend of mine and he's going to be your field mentor." The Major responded simply._

 _"Seriously?" She cocked her right eyebrow. "This guy just threatened me!"_

 _"As you will get many more if you stay employed with us." This shut her up real quick. She opened one of the white cabinets in her kitchen and placed a coffee brewer on the counter-top. She continued to prepare the coffee while the Major resumed to speak. "While you are getting acquainted with and working on confidential material that require your intellectual skills, it is essential we train you to be well-rounded in other special-ops."_

 _"Well, it is what I signed up for, I guess." She placed the coffee pot on the burner, waiting for it to brew._

 _"Exactly. I think you would be even more exceptional if you train with him." She moved her eyes to the toned man that was glancing around her small apartment. A sigh escaped her lips. She looked back at the coffee and opened the spout, pouring it into a small cup._

 _"Well, 'Johnny, would you enjoy some coffee?"_

 _"Please, black."_

 _"Hmmm not bad. Black just like your soul." She handed him the small cup. All she got in response was a grunt as he gently took the cup from her hand. "So when is this whole mentorship supposed to start?" She leant back onto the counter, being careful not to catch her cotton clothes on fire._

 _"Tomorrow. Jack will meet you here and take you to a disclosed location in the CIA base."_

 _"Alright," She finished pouring herself a cup of coffee and continued, "just don't surprise me again."_

 _"The key is to never let your guard down." Jack spoke up matter-of-factly. "Even if it is during a time of peace."_

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 **Author's Note: Not gonna lie, introductory chapters are always boring! But never fear, next chapter it finally picks up with some action! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Metal Gear Solid franchise!**

 **Author's note: Thanks to everyone who subscribed and/or dropped by the check out "Harboring Among Us"! Here is the next installment; I hope you enjoy! :3**

 **Thank you "Guest K" for sending in the first review! It warms my heart knowing you enjoyed the first chapter :)**

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 **"** **Into this house we're born,**

 **Into this world we're thrown,**

 **Like a dog without a bone,**

 **An actor out alone,**

 **Riders on the storm"**

 **-The Doors**

* * *

A harsh turbulence shook the plane as an alarm started to go off. The plane rocked back and forth as a lightning storm was dangerously close to the small plane. Jolting her eyes open, Lydia jumped in her seat at the loud crack of lighting - which was way too close for comfort. "Klein, you better have a great reason on why the _hell_ you decided to go though a STORM."

"With all due respect ma'am, this shit storm came out of no where!" Klein's hands were sweaty with tension as he tried to stay in control of the plane. "This is what we get for flying over a god damn communist country!"

"Ahhhh!" Lydia grunted in annoyance as she unbuckled her seatbelt.

"PUT YOUR BELT BACK ON, AGENT." Klein raised his voice.

"Fuck that." She tried her best to balance herself over to the seat that was adjacent to Klein. "I'm gonna help us out of this shit. You're life is in danger too, you know! Give me the copilot controls!"

"AHHHHH FINE." He flipped a switch that turned on co-pilot controls. As soon as that small action was made a large bolt of lightning struck the right wing engine. Lydia fell flat on her ass at the jolt. "FUCK ME." Klein was getting scarred, hell, so was Lydia. He quickly turned off the co-pilot controls. "Grab the codec from the box on your right! Call the Major, now! Frequency 146.73"

"On it!" She tried to keep her breath steady as she took the codec from the bag placed behind her seat. She fumbled the device in her hand and turned it on. She tuned it to the appropriate frequency and called the Major. "Major, Major, come in!" The silence seemed like it lasted a lifetime.

"We're loosing altitude!" The gravity pulling down the plane was making her stomach flip-flop. The air started to thin as they descended quickly to the ground. Lightning was dancing all around them.

"Goddammit Major! We're going down!" Lydia shouted into the codec, anything to think that he could possibly hear her.

"We're going to crash right into the mountainside!" Lydia looked up at Klein from the codec. _This can't be the end._ A rush of adrenaline filled her body as she stood up on both of her feet and ran to the pilot's chair, gripping Klein's shoulders.

"Klein, I need you to listen to me and don't say a word. Get up. Now." Her tone was dangerously calm. She removed her hands from his shoulders and took the camouflage jacket that was sitting near her gear. While she was doing that, Klein had stood up and snaked passed her, trying to keep himself steady. Once he moved from the pilot chair, the plane started to descend fast. She pulled back on the flight stick trying to get the plane as level as possible. "Klein, tie the sleeve to the flight stick while I hold it in place!" He reached forward and quickly wrapped the sleeve on the stick.

"G-got it!" She pulled back on the opposite side of the jacket and tied it to the head-rest of the pilot's chair. "THREE THOUSAND FEET!"

"That should buy us some time!" She turned around and bolted the best she could to the back of the plane, making sure to grab the codec off the ground. Off of the wall she grabbed a parachute bag and threw it to Klein. "Hurry! Put that on!" She followed suit to her own command and put a back pack on herself.

"We have about a minute to impact!"

"Well get ready to jump!" Another lighting bolt cracked and the front engine exploded. "Grab on to something!" She shouted as air started to vacuum them to the front. To her right, the emergency exit was just in reach. She struggled to grab onto the latch and jerked it down - making the door instantly fly open. "Come on! You first!" Lydia shouted. Klein took no hesitation and ran to the door, only to stop at the sight at how high they were. "What are you doing?! JUMP! PULL YOUR SHOOT AT FOUR." She shoved him out of the plane, his scream didn't last long as the plane soon left him behind. Counting to three she leaped out of the plane. The wind hit her hard; she could tell they were too close to the ground - at least the parachute would slow their impact a little bit. She closed her eyes and pulled her parachute on her own count of four. She opened her eyes to try and get a grasp of the scenery around her, but it was too dark to tell where they were. _It's no use, it's too dark!_ She grunted to herself. It was just her luck to crash at an unknown time at night in an unknown territory on her first mission. In the distance, she heard the loud explosion from the airplane crashing into the side of the mountainous terrain - more than likely starting a forest fire. The lighting seemed like it was only following the plane, there were no clouds or anything around to cause this strange weather pattern. _What's happening here_? This thought was interrupted as her right boot harshly brushed against the top of a tree, and not too long after her whole body was being engulfed in leaves, leaving scratches all over her torso. Branches painfully collided with her body; after about ten seconds of pain she had enough and unhooked the buckle on her back-pack, making her plummet to the hard earth.

At impact, she fell onto her left hip and whiplashed her head against the hard dirt. She let out a small, painful grunt as her brain swam a little too violently in her skull. The world became dizzy, not being able to feel the ground below. Lydia tightly shut her eyes and tried to stay still, letting her head regain it's normality. She wasn't sure at how much time had passed, but she gently moved her left arm to lift up her torso. A slight pain poked her in her left hip as she ascended her body further above the ground. she finally got to a position where she could sit on her butt, and extend both of her legs in front of her. She slowly opened her eyes and waited for her eyes to adjust to the best of their ability. Her breath fogged up in front of her from the darkness, it was colder and more humid than usual, the tropical climate instantly gave away they were in the jungle Klein was talking about. The pain in her left hip began to grow up her spine. "Ahhh." She moved her left arm inside her pant pocket and pulled out the broken codec. More than likely, some of the pieces were lodged into her skin that she couldn't feel yet. _While I'm still on adrenaline, I should find Klein._

Lydia grabbed the machine from her left hand with her right and placed the codec back into her right pocket. Slowly she turned to her right and gently hoisted herself off the ground and clumsily stood on her two feet. _He shouldn't have landed too far._ Looking behind her, she could see the glint of her parachute buckle. _If my senses serve me right, he should've landed somewhere behind my parachute._ She began to limp past her parachute and keep an eye out for the young pilot. With each and every step, the pain in her left leg grew worse. _Some first mission, Major_. She looked up and saw the moon was shining bright. _Thank God the moon is out_. She looked from the moon and focused her eyes on the objective ahead. _Once I find Klein, we have to make some kind of shelter. Let's just hope he's alive._ Looking around, she finally heard an unnatural rustle in the woods beyond her.

Taking a sharp breath in, she quickly hid behind the tree so she could not be seen. "L-Lydia, is that you?" The voice was quiet, but she knew it was Klein. Sighing in relief, she made herself visible from beyond the tree and saw a just-as-injured Klein.

"Thank god you're alive." She weekly smiled. "You would've been on my conscious forever if you were impaled by a tree branch or something."

"Oh I was, just nowhere lethal." He laughed, but that made him hold the left side of his abdomen in pain. "Broken ribs, I suppose."

"Alright, first things first." She weakly said. "Let's get as far away from that plane as possible. I have a feeling something is amiss around here."

"What do you mean?" He slowly approached her, placing his left hand on her right shoulder.

"That lightning storm wasn't natural. Just before I saw the plan crash…it's like it was…I don't know, following it?" Klein took in a deep breath at her assuption.

"Let's worry about this later, shall we?" She saw a weak smile form across his lips.

"Good idea." While he put some of his weight on her right side, they began to walk in the opposite direction of the large burning light in the distance. After about half an hour of walking through the jungle, Lydia's adrenaline started to fade - and it looked like the sun was about to rise. A bright orange hue started to blend in with the darkness and rise above the horizon. "Klein, let's stop here." She spoke up.

"Alright."

"My leg is starting to get to me."

"Yeah, I hear yah." He lightly chuckled.

Lydia took in a deep breath as Klein guided his hand off of her shoulder. She walked over to a nearby tree and propped herself against it. "I'm going to wait until sunrise to see the damage. The moon isn't giving off that much light, especially with all these trees around. I don't want to blindly take things out of my body just in case if I make it worse." She slowly slid down, letting the bark scrape against her back. When she landed she exhaled with a slight pain in her voice.

"Here." She heard Klein speak as he walked over to her. She eyed him as he walked over to her and took off his aviator jacket. "Take this, you need it more than I do. Plus, it saved me from a lot more injuries than what you probably suffered." She held out her right arm and accepted the offer. After all, she was just wearing a tank-top that was provided to her before they left the base.

"Thank you, Klein." She didn't want to move to much, so she just draped the jacket over her like a blanket. Klein slid down in the spot adjacent to her and sighed.

"No problem. Thank you for saving my ass. I wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for you."

"Don't thank me yet. Now that our mission literally turned south, we've still got to find a way to survive and out of Russia." She starred out into the distance. She sighed and lolled her head to the right, looking at his legs. "You should get some rest, I'll take watch while you're sleeping. I almost slept twenty hours without knowing it."

"Seriously, who sleeps that long?" He tiredly joked and placed his head on her right shoulder for a little more comfort. "I hope you don't mind."

"No, you're a good man." Just like that, he was out like a light. Keeping an eye on the horizon, Lydia made sure to keep her guard up in case a wild animal decided to leap out at them from no where. _Twenty hours huh? We're probably not too far from where we should've landed. I'm glad I estimated before he passed out._ Within hours of staying still and examining the environment in front of her, the sky only grew lighter as the sun began to rise. _Guess it's time to take a look at this baby._ She carefully removed the jacket from her torso and draped it over Klein. She slowly moved her head to glance at her left pant leg. A good portion of it was stained with blood, mostly where the codec had smashed into her hip. _I'm gonna need to stand for this. Sorry Klein._ She gently took the jacket off of him and folded it into a makeshift pillow. She she hoisted him up off of her shoulder, something didn't feel right. His head lolled back and gently bumped into the tree. No eye shifting, no movement, not anything. "Klein?" His features were pale and his lips were a dark purple. She painfully shifted to her right and laid him flat onto the ground, allowing her to get a good look at his face. His forehead was bruised red, probably from a ruptured blood vessel in his head.

There was no doubt he was dead. Dead. She examined the rest of his body, he only had a few bruises on his arms and no sign of bleeding anywhere. There wasn't even blood on his abdomen where he held onto earlier in the night. He must've hit is head really hard on something. She reached her right hand to the left side of his head, gently caressing some of his light brown hair away from his bruising. Her hand became sticky with his blood the further she moved past his left ear. "Klein." She choked. Tears welled up in her eyes. She didn't know this man for long, but he probably had a family. He probably had a wife and a few kids that adored him. He was a selfless human being, and he helped saved her life. Each tear that streamed down her cheeks fell onto his face. He should've let her know, he should've told her he was gravely injured. "No." She sobbed and crunched her body to rest her head against his still chest. Death. This is the worst pain of all. When would the tears stop? She inhaled heavily and sat back up, tears still falling form her chin. "You didn't deserve this." With her right hand, she reached for his neck and pulled the dog tags from the inside of his shirt. She carefully slid the chain over his head and gripped them tightly in her right hand. She closed her eyes and inhaled.

"Funny but it's true what loneliness can do." She choked back on tears as the eulogy of a song fell from her lips. Within every break, she found herself gasping for more air. "Walking back to happiness, said goodbye to loneliness. I never knew I'd miss you. . .now I know what I must do." Lydia took an inhale and placed the dog tags to her heart. She opened her eyes and took one last glance at him. "Goodbye, Klein. I'll see you on the other side, my friend." Placing the dog tags in her cargo-pocket further down her right leg, she wept.

After limping around the site of Klein's body, Lydia had gathered enough dry wood to possibly start a fire. Hopefully, the smoke would be taken as a part of the crash. She stacked the pieces of wood around him and his belongings. Remembering what Jack taught her on how to makeshift a fire, she recollected her memories and did so, starting a small fire to cremate the brave man that helped her through the night. As the fire grew, so did the smoke from the burning leaves. The smell of his burning flesh was sickening, but this was nothing. She stared into the fire until his ashes were one with the earth, but not too long after, a rustle in the leaves to the east made her jump back into reality. "It's coming from over here." She heard a man's voice. From the sounds of it, he was probably with a group. _I have to hide somewhere, and fast!_ She quickly craned her head to her left and saw a hollowed-out tree. _Thank you, God!_ She quickly limped over and crouched to fit herself in the opening of the tree. With every passing moment, she heard the men shuffling closer to her location. With all of her might, she put enough pressure in her arms and legs to the side of the tree to scoot up enough to be barely visible through the cracked bark. Uncomfortable as it was, it was better than being a prisoner held in a Russian facility. "Sir, I found it! There's nothing here!" Shouted a man, far too close for comfort. Silence followed as she heard the light sound of metal approaching. It sounded like, spurs?

"MEOWRRR." Sounded off one of them men. Lydia's eye twitched in response at the odd call. "Ocelot Unit! Search the area. This fire looks new, so whoever set it couldn't have gotten very far."

"Yessir!" A mass of about ten or more men called out. Hearing all the men walk by her was nerve-wracking. _Please don't let them find me._ She shut her eyes and attempted to listen in closer to the male wearing the loud metal boots. From the sounds of it, and his movements, he was the leader of the group. She attempted to keep her breath short and soft so no one could pick up the noise. _It's a good thing I'm not claustrophobic. Thanks Jack._ She mentally saluted her mentor for yet another way he had saved her life in this hell of a mission. _Jack…why didn't they send you or someone with more experience?_ She shut her eyes and wondered why the Major specifically wanted her to go. _I'm for breaking codes not fucking field missions! I should've dipped out when I had the chance._ _Or maybe I'm just going through the denial phase. Crap I don't wanna die out here!_ The rage in her started to grow, but it soon diminished as the spurs had stopped in their tracks - right outside the hollowed out tree she was hiding in. In a quick moment, she held her breath. From the sounds of it, the back of his head was right beside her's. She shifted her eyes in the hollow of the tree, trying to focus her attention on something else. "Sir! Watch out, there's a snake at your feet!" The man suddenly moved from his spot.

"Where? What are you talking about?" His young voice sounded agitated.

"I'm sorry sir, it was just there a moment ago." From inside the tree, she felt something slither up her right leg. _Oh great, I found what you were looking for._ She started to sweat as the snake moved up her torso and coiled around her right arm. _Oh god, don't make eye contact with it._ She tightly shut her eyes and tried to stay calm.

"What's this?" A more threatening voice, with heavier footsteps approached the tree. "A hollowed out tree for a little mouse to hide in?" She opened her eyes and looked at the snake, trying to catch it's colors before she would really be discovered. _Northern Viper._ She thought to herself. _This is not how I wanted to go._ She gently shook her right arm as the snake hissed loudly at her motions. _Come on and bite me, damn you! I'd rather you kill me now than have me go through torture!_ The snake coiled around her arm tighter and quickly sunk its small fangs into her skin. _Let's hope you have enough venom in your system to kill me._ She flinched as she felt the venom seep into her blood stream, making her arm become numb. _Shit_. Her right arm gave out and she lost her balance, making her roughly land on the surface. "Got you." She heard from the crack behind her. With brute force, the bark was easily ripped apart and someone grabbed her hair, lifting her off the ground and tossing her in a random direction. The snake quickly retreated from her arm in fright as she landed on her right side. "A woman!" Her back was facing him, but the poison was quickly causing her to feel dizzy.

"Sir, a snake slithered off of her. Look! She's bit!"

"Thought you were clever, huh?" She heard the man approach her and stomped on her left shoulder toward the ground so she was laying on her back. "That snake doesn't have enough venom to kill a grown person. If anything, you just made my job a _hell_ of a lot easier." Electricity started to surge from his right arm. Lydia's vision, blurred, focused on the surging lightning emitting from his hand he slowly extended his arm toward her. _Damn it, I can't move. I can't def-_ A giant shock filled her body as she was being electrocuted all over. She couldn't even find the strength to scream as the shock instantly made her fade to black.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG Franchise!**

 **Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who subscribed to my story! It warms my heart knowing you some of you enjoy it! For this one, I combined two chapters together. The first part was like 1200 words and I was all: "No, no, no. Combo time." So thus, here is the next installment and I hope you enjoy! :3**

 **Mature/Trigger content warning: Violence (Torture), Language, Sexual Content.**

* * *

 **"These boots are made for walking,**

 **and that's just what they'll do.**

 **One of these days,**

 **These boots are gonna walk all over you."**

 **-Nancy Sinatra**

* * *

She didn't wake up until an ice-cold wave of water splashed on her body. "Wakey, wakey." The nefarious, deep voice from before chuckled at his own command. She was tied up by her wrists onto a hook of some kind that hung from the ceiling. Her legs were bound as well; she was lifted high enough to just have her toes balancing on the concrete floor. Tiredly, Lydia slowly opened her eyes and looked toward her assailant. She had never seen a man so gigantic and threatening. He had ugly scars all over his face and his muscles were abnormally large for a _normal_ human being. To his right was the man with spurs. "Do you know what happens when electricity collides with water?"

She said nothing. _You can't get anything out of me you monster, I was trained by the best in the business._ She didn't want to give him the satisfaction, so she deviated her gaze to the right of the cowboy wanna-be. "You aren't even going to look at me, bitch?" He heavily walked to her and slapped her across the right cheek with the force of a ten-ton truck. She felt her cheek split open as her neck snapped, still sensitive from the whiplash of the unruly parachute landing. "Not even going to whine?" He took a fist-full of her tank top and ripped it off of her body, revealing her black bra and bare torso. Without hesitation, he latched roughly onto Lydia's chin and tilted her head toward his. "You have a very nice body for a _woman_. I'm offended that you won't look me in the eye." He let out a sinister laugh.

She could feel the warm blood trail down her cheek from where he slapped her. He leaned his head in and licked some of the blood off of her cheek, mentally making her disgusted. If his grip wasn't so strong, she would turn her head and bite his tongue off. "Where are you from, little girl? I would hate to tarnish that body of yours." The brute stepped away a few feet. She could feel him sizing her up. "Go ahead, let me ask you again." His arm began to emit electricity. "Where are you from?" Keeping her ground she closed her eyes and waited for the intense shock. Instead, she received a painful, shocking blow to the stomach, followed by hard punch to her right cheek. This time she felt her cheek crack. _Such power_. She thought to herself as her head became light again from her brain hitting up against her skull. _Inhuman_.

"It would be better for you if you just answered his questions." Nonchalantly vocalized the young man standing in the corner of the room. She weakly averted her eyes in his direction and made eye contact with his bright, cold, blue ones. Warm blood started to drip from her mouth from the aftermath of the second punch to the face. They stared at each other for what seemed like minutes, but her attention was soon broken when the large man grappled her face in his monstrous hand once more. She still tried to keep her eyes on the young man. He couldn't be any older than she was, still just a kid.

"What's your name, girl?" He surrounded his left appendix with electricity and touched her right shoulder briefly, making the water singe her skin with the intense pulse. This finally made her groan in pain. "Oh, I finally got something from you." Lydia had formed enough blood in her mouth and snapped her head up, spitting in his face. She finally made eye contact with the man with fury in her green eyes. "You think you're funny?" He wiped the blood off of his face with his right hand then smothered it back into Lydia's. The pressure from his hand was bruising her nose as he violently rubbed the crimson liquid into her face. He electrocuted her again, this time long enough to actually make her scream in pain. She could smell her skin searing off of her body with every moment she was in shock.

* * *

 _"Hello? Is anyone home?" A ten-year-old Lydia walked into her small home after a long day of school. "Mom?" Lydia walked into a small hallway not too far from the front door. On the walls hung family photos of when she was a baby - and a few of her late father who was a decorated officer that served in the Second World War. She didn't know too much about him, he had committed suicide not too long after Lydia was born. All her life it had just been her and her mother. She wasn't the nicest of parents and was violent if Lydia acted out of line in the smallest manner._

 _Lydia glanced at another photo of a black and white portrait of her mother in the arms of Lydia's father. Lydia could imagine the colors as she glanced over the photo. Her mom had long blonde hair and the brightest green eyes. If there was anyone Lydia took after, it was her. Diverting her eyes from the photo of him holding her in his arms, she inhaled a grotesque stench coming beyond the closed door leading into their family bathroom. "Mom?" Lydia movie closer to the door and placed her ear to it. All she could hear was the cracking of electricity. "Mom? I'm coming in." Lydia knocked, causing the door to automatically swing open; only to reveal her mother sitting in the tub, fully clothed and unconscious. She stepped over to the tub, but halted when she examined their electrical toaster plugged into a nearby outlet and floating in the tub with her. She glanced from the toaster to her mother, who had electrical burns over the parts of her body that were submerged in the water. The stench of the seared flesh imprinted in her mind the moment she shut her eyes at the sight of the deceased._

* * *

More ice-cold water collided with her bare skin - gently this time and acting more as a relief to her newly formed burns. The water started from the back of her bare neck and trailed down her whole body. Instead of jolting her eyes open, she slowly opened her eyelids and stared at the ground, soulless. She heard someone ask something, but her head was clouded so much she couldn't make out the words. Her arms were numb from hanging over her head for the extended period of time. She must've passed out from the torture. How long has it been? A mixture of blood and water was splattered on the floor below. Her vision was hazed and she felt light-headed from the extreme torture she just faced. Walking into her sight was the lower half of the man wearing spurred boots. She felt him gently clasp onto her chin with his hand and slowly raise her head. Her eyes found his bright blue ones, slightly narrowed with little concern hidden behind them. Despite his alignment, his eyes were a relief to glance into.

Lydia felt tears dam up in the corner of her eyes and reacted with shaky exhale of a breath. His gloved thumb slowly traced along her right jaw line and circled around her shin. Her eyes followed his as he watched his own movements against her frail, sensitive skin. His touch moved to the right corner of her mouth, gently smearing some warm blood away. She closed her eyes at his tenderness, finally letting a few tears fall from her eyes. Her mouth sobbed into a frown as she opened her blood-shot green eyes once more, staring into his. Lydia weakly coughed, wanting to desperately bargain for her life.

"Tell me your name." His voice sounded muffled to her ears, but well decipherable.

All she could do was frown. The man sighed in annoyance and receded his hand from her face, letting her head drop. The sound of his spurs rattled as he turned and walked away from her, towards the barred entrance of the room. Lydia used all her strength to lift her head and use her eyes to follow the man out. She examined his actions, using his right arm to reach in his pocket the moment he reached the entrance. With one fluid motion, the young man extended his arm and gripped a small gun in his hand, shooting the contraption that was holding her up off the ground. Gravity pulled her down quickly, causing her to plummet on the surface; landing on her bound feet then falling on her left side. Lydia tightly shut her eyes and sharply inhaled; feeling some shrapnel from the codec puncture deeper into her thigh. From the feel of the injury, some pieces were probably to far lodged into her leg to dig the pieces out.

Opening her eyes, she witnessed the man turn back around and calmly walk out of her cell, making sure to shut and latch the barred entry. Once the sound of spurs faded, she extended herself and placed her restrained hands on her abdomen; staring at the plain, grey-bricked ceiling above her. Out of all the things, the man had shown her mercy. This probably wasn't the last time she would see any of those goons as long as she lived.

Days had probably gone by since the cowboy had shot her down from the ceiling. Since then, she had unbound her hands from the tightly-wrapped rope and untied her ankles so she felt a tad more comfortable. The celled area was about the size of her small apartment home she came to miss very much. If it wasn't for the occasional masked guard that would come by and verbally harass her, Lydia would've gone crazy by now.

Leaning up against the wall, so her left side was facing away from the bars, she slid down and sat on her butt. The wall was excruciatingly cold against her bare back. She carefully pulled up her left pant leg and began to fish out pieces of the codec that were still lodged into her thigh. Hours would go by before someone checked up on her, so that gave her plenty of time to get some vital pieces. _This could be a long-shot but I have at least got to try._

Lydia had mustered up a bright idea to re-build the broken codec. The patrol guards had yet to discover that lovely item was hiding out in her right cargo pocket. Any essential piece she dug out of her leg, she would carefully attach it to the machine out of guard's view. Although, if she heard a guard approaching, she would have to start the process all over again since she didn't have any type material to hold it all together. Piece after piece, she would experiment and try to turn on the device to see if it had any power left in it. If she were to ever get the codec working again, she would have to do so when no one was around. _Let's just hope none of those guys come back any time soon_. Lydia's mind constantly lingered on the odd, brutal man that had the unnatural power to control lightning.

"Tch." She winced in pain as her fingertips wrapped around a piece of metal lodged deep in her leg. At an excruciatingly slow pace, she agonizingly inched the piece out of her leg. A small amount of blood dripped down her thigh and onto the ground below. She began to harshly suck in more air through her teeth as the piece was sluggishly being purged from her muscle. "Ahhhhh." The pain became worse and she decided to stop with the piece probably half-way out of her leg. She inhaled and exhaled deeply while pulling down her left pant leg over her ankle. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back up against the wall, listening to the guards that were stationed nearby.

"I'm so hungry."

"Yeah, I haven't eaten in like two days." At this remark from one of the soldiers, she scoffed with a chuckle and opened her eyes to stare at the wall in front of her. "M-m-Major, Sir!" _Major?_ Lydia quickly looked to her left thigh at the blood stain. _Fuck_. She heard the approaching footsteps with the sound of familiar spurs. From the sounds of it, there wasn't anyone with him, thank God. _I gotta do something about this, and fast!_ Lydia quickly hoisted herself up on her right leg and looked at the wall behind her. _Here goes nothing!_ She latched onto her left leg and slammed her thigh against the wall, having the piece achingly slip back into her muscle. She gritted her teeth, sucking in the pain as she resumed the position she was in before - back against the wall and butt on the ground. As the cowboy got closer she continued to stare at the wall on the opposite side of the room; attempting to ignore the pain surging through her leg.

"Still alive, huh?" Lydia rolled her eyes dramatically to look at her new guest. He was wearing the same uniform from when she was tortured. Red beret on his head and color-ordinated uniform of black and red that was well-fitted to his body. On his sides, he carried the two small pistols. Eyeing the guns for a few seconds, he grabbed the both of them and gracefully started to twirl them around his fingers and flip them around. Unamused, Lydia kept her eyes on him - he must've been good because he didn't loose eye contact with her no matter what direction he was flipping the guns around. He soon pocketed one on his left hip and pointed the other one at her through the bars.

"Do you really think that's a smart idea?" Lydia questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Ahhh, she speaks." He retracted his gun, spun it around his finger a few more times and placed it in his right holster.

"I'm just saying, if I was sitting a little closer to you. . ." She looked at the wall across from her again. "I would've knocked that gun right out of your hand and shot you dead, boy."

"Well, next time. . .I would like to see you try, little girl." He threw the insult back at her matter-of-factly. "And next time, you probably shouldn't insult me." Lydia had enough liquid in her mouth and turned her head, spitting in his direction. He only chuckled at her gutsy response. "Spiteful woman." She examined the grin on his face.

"What are you doing here, cowboy?" She stared at the wall in front of her again.

"Just checking to see if you've given up yet."

"As if…" She rolled her eyes to glance at him again. "How long has it been?"

"Now, now," He held up his right index finger and placed his left hand on his hip. "I'm not going to give you that luxury." _Damn_. "I have a deal to strike with you though." He narrowed his bright blues and began to pace the outside of the bars like a predator, eyeing his next meal. "You tell me one thing about you, and I'll tell you one thing about where you are."

"I'm not stupid, I know where I am." Lydia slowly stood up and limped over to the bars. She wrapped her hands around the cold steel. "Give me more to go on than that."

"Tell me where you are, then." He was still slowly pacing the front of the cell, never losing eye contact. " _Humor_ _me_ with how much _you_ know."

"Well when you put it that way." Her expression dulled as his level of sass exceeded her expectations.

"How about this." He stopped in front of her and wrapped his left hand on the same bar she was holding on to, leaning his face in to peer into her bright green eyes. "You tell me where we are and I'll give you some medical supplies so you don't have to watch your leg rot off." He devilishly grinned. She moved her eyes to his hand where he conveniently placed. _This is a trust tactic. I could easily grab his arm and pull him forward, knock him out and take his guns to shoot my way out, but is it worth it?_ She shifted her eyes to look back into his head. _All that is important to me right now is to survive. I wouldn't be able to get out of here guns blazing, right?_ Hearing some conversations in Russian from time to time, she deduced she was in Groznyj Grad…time to give him that answer.

"Groznyj Grad; Tselinoyarsk, USSR." The man roughly snatched her chin with his right hand and violently crushed her face into the bars. His glare was intense, trying to fish out any lie he could possibly find in her eyes.

Still holding onto her face and glaring in her eyes he suddenly shouted, "You! Soldier!"

"M-m-me, Major?"

"Go grab some medical supplies." He shoved back her head and crossed both of his arms over his chest. Lydia took two limping steps backwards and stared at the man, sizing him up in slight surprise.

"Y-y-yessir!" Lydia heard the pattering of boots run farther away. About a minute after waiting, a masked guard, probably the one that heeded his order in the first place, trotted up to him and extending his arms out to the man with a first-aid kit. The major took it from his hands and slid it through the bars of the cage - dropping it on the ground before Lydia. At this, the guard that brought him the supplies quickly ran off to resume his position. The cowboy wore a sly grin on his lips until he heard the sound of another guard echo down the hallway - that's when his eyes were slightly annoyed, but nonetheless he still kept eye contact with the woman.

"M-m-major Ocelot! There you are! The colonel required your attention in the main hangar!"

"Well," he began, his cold eyes eating Lydia alive. "Tell the _Colonel_ that I will be right there." He cocked his left eyebrow.

"Yessir!" He brought his right hand to his chin and rubbed it.

"Take my advice and use that before you get more company. You never know who might walk down this hall."

"I will heed your warning," she paused and limped over to the case sitting before him. She bent down and picked it up with her right hand. Once she stood up she glanced at his bright blues. "-Ocelot." She nodded in slight respect. All he did in response was take both of his arms and make an odd gesture like he was tossing something to her - must've one of those "signature moves" that Jack had told her about in the past. He let his arms fall to his side and turned left and walked down the hall to where the guard's voice sounded off from. Hopefully she could grow slightly accustomed to the sound of Ocelot's spurs.

Making her way back to the wall she was previously leaning against before she was interrupted. Resuming the position, she placed kit on her left. She rolled up her left pant leg and followed with opening the first aid kit soon after. Inside was a pair of tweezers, scalpel, bandages, medical tape, stitching and disinfectant - everything she needed to patch herself up. She grabbed the plastic bottle of denfectant and unscrewed the lid. _This is going to burn like a bitch_. She sucked in a breath and poured the disinfectant down her thigh, letting it seep into her would. The burning sensation spread through her entire body and she hit the back of her head on the wall behind her. Squinting her eyes shut she exhaled and opened them back up. Slowly, she placed the bottle next to the kit and then grabbed the tweezers.

 _Alright, now here's the painful part._ She looked at the tweezers, held in her left hand, with a slight frown on her face; her leg still burning with the disinfectant. Slowly, she lodged the closed tweezers into the open orifice on her thigh until she felt it collide with the piece of metal she excruciatingly slammed back in. She loosened the grip on the tweezers and used her right hand to spread apart the skin, giving the wound a little more space than before. Thick blood started to flow down onto the floor as she began to slowly pull the piece of of her leg. She bit her bottom lip as she felt the medium-sized piece of metal shear some tissue on its way out.

 _I'm lucky this shit missed my bone._ She pulled out the piece just enough to where she could get a grip on it with her hand. She dropped the tweezers and pinched the piece between her left thumb, index finger and middle finger. Taking another sharp breath it, she jerked the piece out of her leg and dropped it immediately to the ground. She exhaled at the pain and hit her head against the back wall again. _God damn, if I had it my way I would never go through that again._ Lydia twisted her leg to get a better opening of the gash. _I don't really care about the other small shards in there, I think I got all I needed._ She grabbed the disinfectant and poured a little more straight into the wound now that there was nothing in there. Pain radiated from the fissure as the disinfectant seeped into her veins. She let go of the injury and reached to the needle and medical thread. _Now I can only hope that nobody comes in a beats me up._ After threading the needle, she stuck the sharp object through her leg and to the other side of the wound, making sure to connect the skin together.

"Hey you!" sounded off a guard. Lydia ignored him and continued to sew her wound up. "That was pretty ballsy of the Major to give you that. But I won't tell the Colonel if you let me do something." She still ignored him, now half way down her wound. "You're lucky I don't have the keys to this cell, little girl, otherwise you'd be all mine." She heard the man unzip something, probably his pants - she didn't want to look. She soon heard him moaning and sounding off expletives. _My wound is way more appealing than those horrific sounds._ She sighed and cut the thread with the scalpel that was provided in the kit.

Once the thread was cut she eyed the dangerous object with interest, blocking out the man's self-pleasure in the background. _Hmmmm, should I?_ The thought of her throwing the scalpel out the door and landing on his penis was highly amusing. But the chances of her actually doing it? Seriously…what were the chances of her blindly hitting him in the dick and giving him a surprise circumcision with this lovely object? She fiddled the scalpel around in her fingers while the idea of his pain swam around in her head. _Nah, I'll get him when I get out of this place. Man I sound like a sadist._ She placed the scalpel down and grabbed the medical tape, just for an extra secure measure. She lightly taped over the stitches and soon after grabbed the bandages. She heard the man heave and exhale, sounding like he finished. "Damn you were great." He inhaled and she heard the zipper again. "See you soon. Let me see your face next time…" His footsteps started as the individual walked away. _It's good thing I don't indulge in any of that stuff_.

Lydia rolled her eyes at the thought of the disgusting man as she wrapped the medical bandages around her thigh. _All done._ She pulled down her pant leg and slowly shifted her weight to the right side of her body; pushing herself up. She limped over to the bars and looked left and right, getting the best view down the hall as she could. _Good, no one's around._ She lightly limped back over to her spot and sat. Lydia unbuttoned her right cargo pocket and grabbed the codec, and placed it on her left side. She reached further in her pocket, grabbed smaller pieces and placed them next to her as well.

 _I've already got it tuned to 146.73, now to figure out where this baby goes. I'm pretty sure it's an important piece._ Tediously, she used the tweezers provided to her in the first aid kit to piece the codec back together. What seemed like a few hours later it seemed like that was all she could do. Lydia grabbed the medical tape and taped the back so none of the pieces would juggle around. _Finally some adhesive. That Ocelot never saw this coming._ She grinned to herself and flipped the "on" switch. She turned up the volume slightly to see if she could get any pink noise, but it was no use, she heard nothing. Lydia sighed in disappointment at the lack of a good signal. _I've got to risk it._

"Man you couldn't believe this." She suddenly heard the voice of an approaching guard. . .no it sounded like there were at lease three. "Major Ocelot was juggling his guns for like two hours yesterday."

"Two hours?" scoffed another one. "I highly doubt that. He's good, but not _that_ good."

"I don't know man, the Major is pretty great."

"What? Are you in love with him or something?"

"N-n-no!" One of them hesitated. At the sound of them approaching closer to the cell, she stuffed the codec back into her pocket, this time away from the impact area. "Let's just get the kit and go already." _Ok yeah, they're coming for me. Just what I thought._ She threw everything back into the kit and made sure to latch it shut.

"Hey lady." Three guards stopped in front of the bars. "We're here to get the kit." She sighed and stood up, grabbing the kit in her left hand. She limped over to the guards, who were smartly standing a safe distance away from her. She held out her left arm through the bars and dropped the case at their feet.

"Aren't they ever going to give you a new shirt?" Asked one of the guards. _That would be nice._ Lydia looked down at her body.

"Dude, NO." answered another as he bent down and took the case. "If you hadn't noticed, SOME of us like seeing a shirtless girl around here." He winked at her through the eyeholes in his mask, making her shiver in disgust. She turned around and limped back to the wall. The guards departed and continued on their way talking about 'The Great' Major Ocelot.

 _It might be wise to wait a few more hours before I give the Codec a shot. It's not like I'm going anywhere._ Lydia sighed to herself and closed her eyes, waiting for sleep to take her.


	4. Chapter 4

**_Disclaimer: I do not own any form of the MG/MGS Franchise!_**

 ** _Author's note: What's this? Two updates in such a short amount of time?! It must be a holiday or something! Well anyway, thank you to everyone who subscribed to the story and/or dropped by to take a read. Here is the next chapter; I hope you enjoy! :3_**

 ** _Mature Content Warning: Violence._**

* * *

 **"There she stood in the doorway,  
**

 **I heard the mission bell.**

 **And I was thinking to myself,**

 **This could be heaven or this could be hell.**

 **The last think I remember,**

 **I was running for the door,**

 **I had to find the passage back to the place I was before.** **"**

 **-The Eagles**

* * *

 _1963: It was Lydia's first year of college at MIT under their Political Science and Cognitive Science programs. At sixteen, she had skipped a few years and graduated from El Dorado High School in Denver with shining recommendations. While chowing down on some delicious packed lunch, a familiar individual rolled up to keep her company. "Mr. Emmerich." Lydia made eye contact with him. "Long time no see."_

 _Huey Emmerich, he was eighteen years old and working on his PHD in engineering. He had scraggly brown hair and wore rounded glasses over the bridge of his nose that covered his blue eyes. His whole life he had been confined to a life in a wheelchair due to a birth defect. Despite their differences, they did have something in common - being admitted into the university at a young age. It was natural for Lydia to connect with him right away! "Yes, it's good to see you too. I just saw you sitting here all by yourself and decided to come say 'hello'." He shot her a smile._

 _"Well…hello!" She made out the words with a mouth full of food. Huey couldn't help but snort out some laughter while Lydia swallowed her food. "I know, so lady-like. So, hey! You just started your job at NASA, right? How cool is that?"_

 _"It's good so far." He smiled at her, taking another bite. "I met a lot of…uhhh…amazing people that bring knowledge from all over. It's definitely a learning experience every time I go in."_

 _"That's good! Keeping you on your toes." Lydia swallowed some more food. "Oh…I have an odd meeting today when my final class is up."_

 _"Hmmm, really? What's that about?"_

 _"I don't know exactly…but the Dean of the Political Science College wants me to meet with someone…"_

 _"Huh, well good luck. Maybe it's a job offer."_

 _"…what? I'm only sixteen."_

 _"And look where you're at." Huey gleamed. Lydia couldn't help but roll her eyes._

 _"Alright, alright. Make my ego even larger why don't ya." She finished off her lunch and started to pack up. "Huey, don't be a stranger, ok? It was good to see you, you know!" She didn't mean to make him blush…but he did._

 _"S-sure! I should get going too. I'll see you around, then!" And just like that, he rolled away._

 _Hours had passed until it was finally time to meet up with the Dean, Mr. Jay Lovelace. Lydia waltzed into the a tall building full of offices and walked to the closed door of Mr. Lovelace's room; making sure to knock a few times. "Come in!" He shouted. Lydia placed her right hand on the bronze door-knob and twisted the door open. Stepping inside the room, Lydia observed Mr. Lovelace conversing with a man dressed in a spiffy black and white business suit. "Ah, sir this is her!" He motioned his hand right hand toward Lydia as a way to introduce her._

 _"Ah, hello Lydia Matthews, I've heard so much about you." He had a strong British accent and looked like he was important by the way he was dressed. "I hear your a grade-A genius in critical assignments. From the looks of what Mr. Lovelace showed me, your GPA is astounding!" He stood in front of her and extended his right hand._

 _"You flatter me, sir." She grabbed his hand with her right and firmly shook it._

 _"My name is Major David Oh, I work for a specialized branch of the CIA."_

 _"Well, why are you telling me that? Isn't that information supposed to be confidential?"_

 _"Yes, under a lot of circumstances. But you, Ms. Matthews, are an exception." He had a wide smile on his face, letting go of her hand and folding them both of his arms behind his back. "I would like to make you an offer."_

 _"Are you wanting to offer me a position?" Huey's speculation was spot on!_

 _"A position that will only come to you once in your lifetime." He glanced back at the teacher and then to Lydia again. "I want you to come to the CIA base and test your skills in an entry-exam like manner. The test will consist of real-life situations and certain coding that require intelligence and other means of critical thinking to pass. Sound interesting so far?"_

 _"So far…"_

 _"This is a rare opportunity for a girl your age. But under a shining referral and evidence that you might be able to pass, there are many teachers, other than Mr. Lovelace, here that have a lot of faith in you."_

 _"Ok…would that require me to go to DC?"_

 _"Yes, well I don't expect you to walk all the way there, so I have arranged a private flight for you if you agree to take the test. If you pass then I will give you an interview to be an agent in my unit. But listen to me, you cannot speak of this interview or test with any other individual, otherwise your safety and security could possibly be compromised."_

 _"Is there anything else I should know? Why me? Why not some male college graduate?"_

 _"It's nothing about gender, it's all about skill. From what I've seen - you have a lot of potential, and I would like the harness that potential into helping our country. So Ms. Matthews, will you agree to take the exam?"_

 _She sighed and nodded her head slightly. "Yeah, why not?"_

 _"Excellent." He smiled and extended his right arm for her to shake. Lydia took it gladly and smiled back at him. He let go and continued to speak of some terms. "If you do pass, you will be moved to DC under an apartment that will be supplied by the agency until you can afford to pay for it yourself. You will unknowingly have the best and most secure job in the world; and you will still be given time to study. And…let me repeat myself. . .this opportunity doesn't come to a lot of people. As I may say, Ms. Matthews, you are one in a billion. Your flight details will be delivered to you via mail to your P.O. address."_

 _"Thanks for the extra incentives for me to pass." Lydia chuckled a little._

 _"I'll see you in the capitol, Ms. Matthews."_

* * *

A sudden splash of cold water to her body woke her up. "AH!" Lydia twitched and looked at the individual standing outside of the bars - just an ordinary soldier. No red beret on his head, so this couldn't be a member from the ocelot squad.

"Time to wake up, sweet-heart." Her eyes drifted down the man's left arm; he was holding keys. "We're moving you to a different location, per orders of our Colonel."

"What is this, special treatment?" She snidely responded, making her way off of the ground.

"Wouldn't you like to think so?"

Two more guards walked into view standing on both sides of the one that approached Lydia's cell a few moments ago. "Come here." Her eyes shifted between the two new soldiers and then to the one with the keys. It was then she slowly decided to approach the bars. "Place both your hands through one opening of the bars." She raised an eyebrow at his demand and waited for one of them to reach forward and cuff her. "Don't try anything, you hear?" He turned his head to his right and nodded at the guard on standby to approach with metal cuffs. _They're both in proximity to where I could reach the guy with the keys and the one coming at me...just at the right moment I can pull them both forward. But…what about that one?_ She looked to the third man positioned on the far left. He was armed with a pistol that was holstered into his belt, if she took a chance, she would probably suffer from a bullet injury or two before she could make it out of the cell safely; that is if the guy knew how to aim.

Once the man with the cuff approached close enough, Lydia found her opportune moment to strike. She quickly removed her left arm and replaced it into another gap in the cell door and flushed her body against the metal bars grabbing onto the shirts of the two soldiers that were closest to her. She lunged all of her weight backwards and slammed the two men into the hard metal with enough force to knock them out from head injury. Her eyes glanced at the man left standing who looked slightly frightened at her ballsy attempt. He was probably trying to wrap his head around what was happening. She knelt down, putting her weight on her good leg and snatched the keys from the hand of the man that was standing in the middle.

Lydia heard the unstrapping of the man's holster and hear him shout something. . .but she didn't have time to listen to this nut! She jumped over to the lock and placed one of the keys into the hole, giving it a firm twist. _Not it!_ The click of the safety went off when she fumbled through a few more keys. Once she got to a large bronze key the man shouted, "Don't you dare!" _Ahhh, this must be the one._ She grinned and quickly placed it in the key-hole. And at that, the man fired the gun at her.

She heard the bullet ricochet off of one of the bars and probably land somewhere behind her. _Five bullets left._ She turned the key and heard the latch unlock. The man shot another bullet, missing again just by her shoulder. _Four._ She threw the doors open and launched toward the man, tackling him to the ground by his legs. The soldier's gun flew from his hands and landed about two feet away from him. He grunted in frustration as he attempted to kick her off of his body.

"I don't think so!" still holding onto his legs, Lydia slid herself up toward his torso. She looked at his weapon holster and spotted a knife. _What a dummy._ With the soldier's attention on reaching for the gun, she grabbed the large knife by the hilt and slid it out of his pocket. She let go of the man's legs and reached her left hand in between them to snatch onto his precious treasures with malcontent. The man stopped, probably in pain as she squeezed him harder as she brought the knife to cut his belt loose. "Stop right there if you don't want your genitals handed to you on a platter."

"OWWWW IT HURTS! LET ME GO!"

"Shut _up_." Lydia calmly ordered, letting go of his balls and quickly moving her left hand around his throat - barely beginning to asphyxiate him. She brought the knife down to his jugular. "How do I get out?"

"It's impossible." He cracked. He was obviously still hurting from down under judging from the soppy tears in his eyes.

"Yeah right asshole. Tell me how." She changed the grip of the knife in her hand and pointed the tip at his left eye. "If you don't tell me how to get out of this _fucking_ place in five seconds, this knife is going to go straight through your eye and into your brain." She inched the knife closer to his eye. His tears turned into waterfalls as they flowed down his cheeks and onto the ground.

"F-F-Fine! I'll tell you, I'll tell you please just don't kill me!"

"Then _talk_. You have two seconds." The knife was dangerously close this time.

"Go out the door to where my gun landed and follow the signs until you reach the main hangar and then you can go!"

"Great." She responded. When all seemed like she had won, a soldier with a red beret walked into the room from the door the man was talking about at the end of the hall about ten feet away.

"Hey, what's going on he-AH?!" He noticed the scene and quickly reached for his pistol.

 _FUCK_. Lydia drew back the knife with her right arm and threw it with high velocity, colliding with the man's left leg. He let out a scream. _I've got to shut him up!_ She looked down at the man beneath her and strongly punched him in the middle of the face twice so he lost consciousness. She placed all her weight on her right leg and launched toward the man at the end of the hall, ignoring the pain from her left thigh. She moved behind the man and grabbed him in a choke-hold. Moments later, he passed out from oxygen loss. She dropped the soldier and looked at the door behind her.

 _This is an ocelot squad member, probably to come up and check on me. If I can pretend to be him, I could probably find my way out of here without being detected._ With no time to waste, Lydia wrapped her arms around the man's torso and dragged him back to her cell. Once there, she stripped her boots and pants and swiftly took off the gear of the soldier laying in front of her. In about three minutes she had the gear put on and all was left was the mask. Her hands guided the mask over her face all the while tucking her hair in the back of it so it was out of sight. She placed the beret on top as the finishing touch. She picked up her pants that were thrown to the ground and transferred the codec into one of her many pockets.

 _Gotta get out of here and fast._ _But first I gotta hide this guy._ She wrapped her arms around the man's torso and dragged him out of the cell, looking to the right of the hallway. Narrowing her eyes, she spotted a door that looked like it could lead into some kind of closet. _There! I'll hide him there!_ She slowly dragged him along to the door at the other end of the hall, hoping all the while no one else would show up to check on her. She dropped him, then placed her hand on the knob, giving it a twist and pushing the door open. Inside were janitor supplies. _Janitor supplies in a torture facility? Seriously?_ Baffled at the placement of these odd materials, she picked up the soldier from his torso and pulled him into the small closet along with her old clothes. _I'm sorry, bub. I've got to take desperate measures._

Lydia looked at her belt and pulled out a knife that was holstered on the her left hip. She unsheathed it and knelt down next to the man, grabbing his bare arm. Placing the blade of the knife parallel to his forearm she rested the blade against his skin. _Ahh I can't do this._ She stood up and tucked the knife back into the holster and looked around for some kind of key. Key…that one guy in the hall! She walked out of the closet and limped over to the unconscious man that she took the keys from. Near him, she found the keys she dropped in her frenzy to stop the chaos around her. Lydia bent down and picked them up, quickly racing back to the closet, locking it from the outside. _I'm sorry._ She shut her eyes and limped back toward her cell, throwing the keys back onto his body.

Lydia picked up the pace as she limped to the door the guard told her about. No use hiding the bodies, they were going to wake up and/or be discovered soon. She placed her hands on the door bar and pulled it open, revealing another empty hallway. _Follow the signs huh?_ She looked around, trying her best not to limp. Following down the straight, dull hall, her eyes fell on another door. She placed her ear to it and slowly creaked it open.

Once she moved inside, she found something amazing. A large machine was sitting dormant in the middle of the large garage-type room. Lydia looked around and there were guards everywhere, but none with the signature red beret. She obviously wasn't supposed to be there. She looked around and found a few cargo boxes she could hide behind.

"Sokolov! What a beauty she is." A Russian male's voice travelled in English among the facility.

 _Sokolov? That scientist that went missing? Impossible!_ Lydia remembered Major Oh briefing her about a scientist and his family he had imported to the US for safety, but supposedly, the man never made it after the mission was complete. Is _this_ what he was doing this entire time? _I can't afford to stick around and find out._ She stood up and slowly walked back to the door she came back in through, undetected.

"Oh hey, I've been looking for you Marco." Lydia jumped with surprise as a young voice sounded off from behind her. "The Major wants to speak with you."

She brought her hand to her covered mouth and coughed a few times to get a voice resembling that of the man she knocked out. "What for?"

"Didn't ask. Hey are you ok? You sound like you have a cold?"

"Yeah." She coughed twice for effect. "You could say that."

"Alright, well I'll walk you there. No telling if one of Volgen's troops will pop up. Man I hate those guys." She decided to follow the man down the hall, whom seemed like one chatty individual. "This is why we're the best squad around, us Ocelots. Man, those are cool creatures, don't you agree?" She looked at him and nodded with a hum in response. "What proud beasts they are, and so are we!" He fist-bumped in the air as they walked through a door, leading them into a large court-yard area. "It's a cool base, huh?" Lydia caught herself looking around in awe at the large buildings and heavy-duty walls. She almost didn't realize she was outside. The sun was almost blinding. _This place really does look impenetrable._

"So -" Lydia lingered, "It looks like some guys were working on something in there - I mean in that building." She pointed behind them. "What _was_ that thing?"

"Honestly I don't know. They have that one guy that the United States CIA wanted, but we got to him first. Apparently it's some kind of super weapon he and Sir Granin are working on."

"Yeah…I guess it's kind of a nuclear weapon of some kind, right?" Lydia questioned, wanting to get everything she could out of this guy.

"Yeah! When you were in there, did you see it?!" He stopped in his tracks and balled his hands together like a little kid.

"Uhhhh…." Lydia scratched the top of her head through her beret. "Yeah, just a glimpse tho!" She lied. This lad was a hoot!

"That's strange, I thought they were only working on the main project in the Main Building. I wonder why it would be in the south-east building of all places." He turned his head to the north and looked at the largest building.

"Well, I mean they might be building some parts in different buildings and transferring them over-night." She stated matter-of-factly. "They might know that troops like us wouldn't be snooping around in the torture facility." She guessed.

"Oh that's a smart idea…" The guy trailed off in thought as they approached what must've been the south building.

"Hey man, do you mind if I use the shitter before I see the boss?" Lydia questioned tugging at her belt. "You know, I always find myself wanting to crap my pants from the intensity."

All he could respond with was laughter. Lydia looked around in embarrassment. "Awh man, I feel yah!" He folded his arms over his stomach and buckled over, still laughing. "I get the same way! I mean, the Major is just. . .hahaa. . .intimidating."

 _I'm wondering if this is one of the guys that took the kit from me…_ She remembered the one that was teased over being 'in love' with Major Ocelot. "I'm really glad you're opening up to me, man." He stood up straight and patted her on the back. "You and Francis make fun of me all the time."

"Change of heart I guess?" She shrugged and grinned through her mask. _Wow I can't believe this guy hasn't noticed me yet._

"Well since the bathrooms in here don't need a code, go shit away!" He shooed Lydia off with both hands as they approached the entrance.

"Alright already, now who's making fun of who?" Lydia opened one of the entry doors and walked into a large tiled room with couches and chairs conveniently placed all over. It was modern looking, but very dull. Grays, blacks, and whites with the occasional red were the only colors in sight. She looked around and found an obvious bathroom on the other side of the room. Slowly trying to keep her walking as straight as possible without limping, Lydia made her way to the bathroom door.

"Hey, are you ok?" Asked the guy that guided her. "It looks like you're limping." She looked down at her left leg and noticed where the knife had cut into the man's pants. _Shit. Has he noticed?_

"Uhhhhh yeah. I had an order to check up on the girl in the cell and she freakin' got me with a piece of metal." She turned around and pointed to the rip in the fabric on her leg. He was too far away to really examine the 'wound' and just shrugged in response.

"Ohhhhh, crazy lady. That's why the Major ordered us not to go near that cage...and this is why I don't like girls." Lydia raised an eyebrow under her mask and almost laughed. "Uhhh, I mean-" He caught himself slapping his hand onto his face. "Not in that way. Just go to the bathroom, man." He ashamedly shook his head side to side as Lydia turned back around and limped into the bathroom.

As the door shut, she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. _Oh my god, I can't believe that just happened. I wonder if those other guys have woken up yet. I did hit them pretty hard. But on the other hand, people didn't check on me very often._ The public bathroom was no different than the room outside, plain and simple with ordinary, dull colors. Lydia limped to a stall and shut the door. Sitting on the toilet in the stall, she reached her hand into her right pocket and grabbed the codec. _Alright here we go._

Lydia ran the index finger across the "on" switch and flicked it. Her right trigger finger was ready to hold the button down once she had a connection to the correct frequency. With her left fingers, she tuned the radio to 146.73. Once on the frequency she heard slight buzzing. _Oh my god._ Tears welled up in her eyes as she bowed her head. _I can't believe it._ She choked in a sob. The static was music to her ears, this means she could finally get out. Someone would be coming for her. The Major. Jack. Someone would have to hear her.

She squeezed the button down and took a deep breath in. "Major? Major come in, this is Agent Matthews. Major, come in? Over." She tried to stay as quiet as possible talking to the receiver. After about one minute, she tried again. "Major come in, it's Agent Matthews. Over." She placed the speaker to her ear and turned the volume down as much a possible. Moments turned into minutes. _I've probably got about two minutes until that guy checks on me. Come ON Major!_ Getting frustrated, she tried again, this time a little louder. "Major come in, it's Agent Matthews. Over."

"—Matthews? Is that you?" British. That British voice she never knew she would miss so much was a god-send to her ears.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise!**

 **Author's note: Thank you to everyone who subscribed and/or stopped by to take a peek at Lydia's story! I'm glad you all are enjoying it so far! This chapter is a little on the shorter side, but there will be another update soon! Sooooooo stay tuned! And thank you Guest K for all the reviews! No way I'm sick of you x'D**

 **Without further delay, here is the next chapter! I hope you enjoy! :3**

* * *

 **"You're taking all the sunshine away,**

 **Making out like you're the mainline -**

 **I knew that,**

 **Cos you're a cool cat.** **"**

 **-Queen**

* * *

"Major, it's Agent Matthews. Over!"

"—Good to hear you're alive, Agent. Where are you?"

"Look Major, I don't have a lot of time. Status is POW but I managed to escape. I'm disguising myself and found myself in a bathroom. I have about one minute before I get checked on. I'm in Groznyj Grad. The plane was sabotaged and crashed, pilot is dead, and I've been tortured. Haven't given away information or my name. Hey, you know that mission I helped you on when we were going to smuggle a scientist named Sokolov into the US? He's _here_ and he's making something bad. Some kind of nuclear-type war machine from the sound of it. He's working with my target to achieve some kind of goal." She released her finger from the talk button and waited for the Major's response.

"—Good job Agent. I have to say I'm impressed and relieved that you're still alive. Although the things you've been through are terrible, I have to say that you have been compromised. God be with you."

"Major, you're just going to leave me here?!" She shouted as quietly as she could into the machine. "What about Sokolov?!" There was just static on the other line. No response. Just static. The white noise was as unsettling as being held in that prison cell. "God DAMMIT!" She violently belted and threw the codec into the stall's wall, watching her hard work split into fragments. She remembered Klein's words radiate through her mind: _the United States will deny your existence. You and your mission will be considered as compromised_. She looked at the broken device on the ground and heard a knock on the main bathroom entrance.

"Hey Marco? Are you having a hard time in there or something?"

Lydia wiped some tears out of her eyes and picked up the broken pieces of the codec, soon walking out of the stall and eyeing a lidded trash-can. "Yeah, I'm alright. Just trying to get the shit out of my system." She opened the lid and buried the codec under a bunch of used paper-towels and other things that were lodged into the trashcan.

"Ahhhh, I got yah." She turned on the faucet placed in front of the stalls and stared into the running water. She couldn't rely on any one now, after all…this _was_ a compromised mission. Even the man she relied on the most, Jack, wasn't going to show up out of nowhere and tell her to 'come home, kid'. _I've done just fine on my own so far. I can sure as hell find my way out the same way I got into this hell-hole._ She turned off the water and looked at the entrance to the bathroom. Her country had left her behind, the young eighteen year-old girl from Denver, Colorado was now dead to the entire nation. _And I've got to start by walking though that door._ She narrowed her eyes and placed her right hand on the heavy object, swinging it open. "Geez, it took you long enough!" the man shrugged jokingly.

"Sorry man, when you have to let go, you have to let go."

"Sounds like you had quite the revelation."

"Yeah, you know what? I _did_. You know what they tell you, life's problems seem to come to you when you're either in the shower or taking a shit."

"Ummmm no, that's _not_ what they tell me. . .but I can dig it." He laughed. At least he could find some type of laughter in a place like this. "But I think we're late to see the Major, and he doesn't like being held up…that's for sure."

"Sounds like he's the one to do the _holding up_." She quoted with her fingers, obviously making a joke about his cowboyish nature.

"Oh come on. He's a grade-A genius when it comes to tactics and stuff. He's just amazing! I can't believe you guys don't see that."  
"We see it, we're just not vocal about it like you are." She shrugged. _I think I'm getting used to this deepened voice already. But this is no time to get comfortable. There's no escaping Ocelot right now, but there is a way to get out of this fortress. That much I know._ The both of them walked side by side until they reached a flight of stairs. "You first." She motioned the nameless guy to walk in front of her and guide the way.

"If you say so." They climbed about two flights until they reached a door that led into an open room, like the ground level with pillars and conveniently placed furniture. "Have fun in there." The man stopped and signaled for her to open two red doors, which probably led into Ocelot's office. Lydia took a deep breath and placed her hands on the silver-colored bars and pushed one of the doors open. Inside was just another small hallway and then a single door with a small blurred out window. _That must be it._ She limped toward the door and balled her fist, knocking on the glass.

"Major, it's me, Marco."

"Come in." He spoke, probably from across the room. She twisted the silver doorknob and revealed a room that was fantastically decorated in red, black, gold, and gray. There were all kinds of objects sitting around the room and even a fire place for Pete's sake! In the middle of the room was a mahogany desk with Ocelot sitting in a chair behind it. He was working on some paperwork, probably something important with how emerged he was. "Report."

 _OK, so this soldier was probably ordered to come check up on me, probably not knowing that Volgen's crew was going to be there. So here's to making up a great alibi._ She inhaled and began: "When I got there, I saw the Colonel's crew taking her away. Naturally, I questioned but they told me it was classified where they were taking her." Ocelot stopped working and raised his head up to stare at her, right in the eyes. Those cold, blue eyes she couldn't forget for one moment. "Then that's when you sent for me, and now here I am, sir." His gaze moved down her legs and focused on her torn pant leg.

"And what is that you have there?" He glanced up into her eyes.

"Oh, this?" She looked down at her pant leg. "Sorry sir, I know how keen you are on appearance. The bed frame of my bunk has a piece of metal sticking out of it and I scraped my pants on it this morning." _Sounds legit._

"Is that right?" His voice grew slightly impatient at her excuse. Ocelot rolled out from his desk and stood up, his spurs making noise as he walked around the desk to approach her. "What _else_ happened to you? Humor me." He folded his hands behind his back as he got closer and closer.

Invading her personal comfort bubble she stepped back with each new step he took toward her. "I don't know what you mean, sir." Lydia soon found herself backed up against the door.

"Oh, I'm _sure_ you don't." He narrowed his eyes, peering into her's intensely. He raised and extended his left arm, placing it right next to her head. With his right he grabbed onto her left thigh, making her cringe in pain. "I can't forget eyes like those."

"SIR!" A guard interrupted the intense moment as a strong knock came to the door Lydia was pinned against. "THE GIRL! SHE ESCAPED!"

Ocelot grinned in response and removed his hand from her wounded thigh. "Tell me something I don't know."

"What are we going to do?!" The random soldier shouted from beyond the door, still.

"Go look for her! I don't have time to deal with an escaped prisoner right now." _Why is he covering for me?_

"Yessir!" Ocelot rolled his eyes and made contact with Lydia's again. From the sound of the pattering footsteps from outside, the soldier was gone.

"Now that the word is out, I bet there's no _real_ escape for you now." Ocelot raised his right eyebrow with the sly grin forming on his lips. "Give up the act, little girl." Lydia's heart must've been beating a million miles a minute. What else could she do? The Major was right in front of her, the whole territory was probably on alert due to her disappearance - she tried her best to blend in and make it out on her own, but that window of opportunity was now virtually shut _and_ locked. He moved his left arm away from the door and took off the red beret that was positioned on top of her head. He dropped it to the ground and moved his right hand toward her face to take off the mask.

"Don't touch me, I'll do it." Not afraid to disguise her voice anymore since her identity was easily given away from the wound, she reached for the mask with both hands and slid it off of her head. Her blonde hair fell to her mid back, only confirming her identity to Major Ocelot.

"Well now that we're more _acquainted_ , have a seat." Ocelot stepped out of her bubble and motioned his arm toward a chair that was sitting on the opposite side of the mahogany desk.

"What is this?" Lydia questioned, a little frustrated with his unknown intentions.

" _I'm_ just trying to have a conversation." Ocelot gracefully walked to his rolling chair, pulled it out and sat down. He casually lifted his legs and crossed his legs, placing his heels on the corner of the desk - making sure his spurs didn't knick the expensive-looking furniture. He slightly extended his right arm and sassily motioned toward one of the chairs in front of him. Lydia sighed in defeat and limped over to one of the chairs, she pulled it out and took a seat.

The comfort was amazing - it's been too long since she felt a cushion as good as this. If given the opportunity, she would probably wind up taking a nice, long nap in the chair without a care in the world. "Good girl." He crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Now here's what I want to know. It really was a matter of time until you found your way out. . .but _my_ squad isn't that stupid to go near your cage unless they have meaning to." Lydia thought back to how careful Ocelot's men were when they were approaching her cell. " _How_ did you get out?"

Lydia raised an eyebrow and glanced into his blue eyes. "Is this really the right time to be discussing my escape? The higher-ups will probably drop by and say 'hello'."

"If anything they'll _call_ me." He removed his right arm from his chest and pointed to a red phone sitting across the room. "Now, carry on. . .humor me." He crossed his arm back over his chest and resumed eye-contact. _Why does he do that?_ Feeling a little uncomfortable, she shifted her gaze to look at his spurs and then back at his eyes - still unmoving.

"In a nutshell? Or do you want the whole story?"

"Whatever's appealing."

". . ." Lydia opened her mouth and shut it. _How I tell this story will probably decide my fate here, so I better give him the whole thing - but I got to be myself. Good 'ol natural Lydia._ She made eye contact with him and inhaled through her nose.

"Do you always take this long to start a story?"

"My God, can you just be patient?" She rhetorically asked in retaliation, rolling her eyes in the process.

"Ha!" All she got in response. Not sure if she just cracked his funny bone, but _something_ seemed to be working.

She inhaled again and began. "These three guys, apparently ordered by Colonel Volgen, approached my cell wanting to relocate me to another location. I took advantage of them wanting to hand-cuff me through the bars and knocked two of them out by slamming them against the metal. The third man I could not reach had a gun on him so after I took the keys I started to pick at the lock until I found the right one - which he gave away when I got to it. Luckily he had bad aim and missed every shot he fired. I tackled him and interrogated him on how to find my way out.

"One of your soldiers came into the hall and saw what I was doing. Naturally, he panicked - which led me to knock out the guys I was on top of and grab a knife out of the man's pocket. I threw it into your squad member's leg obviously making him unable to stand up properly. I choked that guy out until he was unconscious and took his clothes and locked him in the random-ass janitor closet conveniently placed on the other end of the hall-way." Straight-faced and all, Lydia exhaled at her long explanation. "And now, after being mistaken as the soldier, Marco, I'm here sitting in front of you. And to be frank, I feel like I'm the biggest pickle in a full pickle jar."

"Oh, and you would be right _Miss_ Marco." He let out a small chuckle, which sounded all too sinister to Lydia. The high-pitched ring of the phone was the prelude to the sentence she was waiting for. "Hmmm, what to do with you." Ocelot stood up, but Lydia stayed put - nervously following him with her eyes. "Now I could tell whoever is on the other line that you are sitting right in front of me. . .which will _surely_ lead to _other_ kinds of torture if Volgen's men really came to snatch you." He dramatically placed his right hand and wrapped it around the neck of the phone. "Or you could tell me your _real_ name in four more rings. Four." The countdown started. Do or die. Lydia had nothing more to lose, she was dead to her country anyway. "Three." The third ring seemed louder than the others and her heart accelerated to a million per minute once more. "Two."

She made eye contact with him and inhaled. _I've got to._ "Lydia." She confidently stated. Ocelot nefariously grinned and picked the phone off the hook.

"Ocelot." He greeted to the other person on the other line. "Yes, yes I know. One of my soldiers brought it to my attention after seeing a mess in the hall." With every pause she grew more nervous. Lydia's palms started to sweat as she gripped onto the arm rests of her chair tighter. "I told you she could potentially be dangerous, it's your men's fault she's out anyway. You going to do anything about that?" Lydia inhaled through her nose and held in the breath, in anticipation. "I'm just stating the obvious." He started to wrap his finger around the red phone chord - something she did all too often when she used her phone back home. She found herself almost smiling at the memory - but this was hardly the time for such memories.

"She's probably long gone by now." Ocelot continued. "It was also brought to my attention that one of my squad members is missing. Probably took his clothes and escaped by means of blending in." After a long pause he sighed. "I'll send a team of my men to track her down. Mmmhmm. . .sure. . .I mean she's only a _woman_. She'll be dead by morning, there's no need to waste any body's time. . .Alright." Ocelot calmly placed the phone back on the hook. "Well _Lydia,_ it looks like you get to live one more day."


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise!**

 **Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who dropped by and/or subscribed to my story! Here is the next chapter! Slow moving, but I hope you enjoy! :3**

 **Guest K: Yeah! The Major is a Major A-Hole, but he has is reasons! Maybe he's up to something? Dun dun dunnnnnnn.**

* * *

 **"She calls out to the man on the street...**

 **He walks on, doesn't look back.**

 **He pretends he can't hear her,**

 **He starts to whistle as he crosses the street...**

 **Oh, think twice, it's just another day."**

 **-Phil Collins**

* * *

"Are you just going to sit there and stare at me? Is _that_ the thanks I get?" Ocelot shrugged dramatically walking back to the desk. "I mean, I _saved_ you just now."

"Thank you?" Lydia's words came out shaky from the nerves building up in her stomach.

"That's more like it." He stopped to the right of Lydia and leaned his butt against the edge of the desk. "Now, I have to go send some troops to look for you. Help yourself to food or anything else you find - and the shower while you're at it. My living quarter is. . ." He paused and pointed to a closed, wooden door behind him. "Right there."

"Why are you doing this?"

Ocelot stood up straight and made his way for the entrance to his office. He stopped once he placed his hand on the bronze handle. "It would be wise for you to burn those clothes while I'm gone. Wouldn't want anyone to find them." Ocelot turned the handle and opened the door. Once out of the room he shut it and she heard the clicking of a lock. Lydia honestly couldn't believe what just happened. This man, her _enemy_ , is showing her mercy? Of course he has his intentions on keeping her alive, but _why_?

She was finally alone to breath - to have a little piece of mind, even if only for a little while. Lydia rubbed her palms against her eyes and let our a shaky breath, attempting to hold in some stressful tears. She then placed her hands on the arm-rests of the chair and hoisted herself up. Limping her way to the door, she couldn't help but examine the surrounding of the spacious office-area. It made sense to have one's living quarters, especially if that someone was worth high-value, barricaded behind a small hallway and an office that have locks for full privacy and security - not to mention have nice things stacked on top of that.

Lydia placed her right hand on the bronze doorknob leading to the room Ocelot mentioned and slowly swung the door open. Stepping inside she couldn't help but notice how neat and spacious everything was. The room was painted gray but had a warm feeling to it with red and black accents, like the office outside. Her eyes fell immediately to a queen-sized bed in the far corner of the room. The sheets and pillows were white and looked comfy enough to knock her out in a mere moment. She gulped and trailed her eyes elsewhere, blocking the thought of sleep out. In the middle of the room was a love-seat and two recliners conveniently placed around a gated fireplace that wasn't too far from the bed. But there were more important things on her mind.

 _He did mention food…_ She walked further into the room and shut the door behind her. In the left corner was a small refrigerator and a round wooden table with two wooden chairs - probably the most plain-looking thing in the room. Lydia limped toward the refrigerator, spotting another room with an open door that led into a private bathroom. Well, I _know where I'm going next._ She happily thought while wrapping her fingers on the fridge's handle. When she swung the door open, it was fully stocked with bread, different kinds of meats, cheeses, fruits, veggies and a gallon of water. In the door was a half-gallon of milk and condiments. . .but her eyes fell on one thing in particular.

Peanut butter…her right hand shakily moved to the jar and gently pulled it out of the door shelf. Slowly, she unscrewed the red lid with her left hand and was soon overwhelmed with the glorious smell of peanuts. Crushed, buttered, peanuts. She smiled to herself that there was a lot of product left and placed the jar on the small round table behind her. She grabbed four slices of bread and something that looked like home-made jelly, as well as the carton of milk and tapped the door closed with her left foot. She carefully placed the ingredients down for her favorite meal and sat in the average chair. _Jeez, I don't know where to start_. She turned her torso around to look at the fridge again, noticing a butter knife and a few other utensils that were sitting on top of the fridge.

 _Here we go._ Lydia reached and snatched the dull knife, then turned all her attention to the meal in front of her. Trying not to make a mess, she loaded up two sliced of bread with peanut butter and then the other two slices with what smelt like grape jelly. She completed the sandwich by slapping the pieces together. Taking one sandwich in her hand, she gladly took the first bite of _real_ food. The taste was almost overwhelming as she was used to little amounts of water and probably one or two pieces of sour-tasting bread within a span of a few days. But this… _this_ was heavenly. She let the food sit in her mouth for as long as she could before her stomach called for it with a large growl. Lydia swallowed and soon found herself eating her second sandwich. _Thank God there is something good in this world like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches._ She took the last bite of her second sandwich a few minutes later.

Lydia reached for the half-gallon of milk and unscrewed the cap, taking a quick swig to wash it down. The liquid was nice and cold as it traveled down into her body. Lydia exhaled in sweet relief as she placed the carton down on the table, screwing the cap back on. With renewed strength, Lydia stood up and opened the door to the fridge again, putting all the supplies back where she found them.

Once finished, Lydia turned her attention to the fireplace and then looked down at her clothes. . .well… _Marco's_ clothes. She sighed at the memory of locking him in the closet started to unzip the blazer. She threw the combat jacket into the opening on top of pre-placed wood and followed suit with the boots, socks, pants, gloves, undershirt and utility belt that she stole. Her eyes shifted to the right of the fireplace and spotted a box of matches. Grabbing the box she approached the fireplace and struck one of the matches she pulled out. She placed it against the clothes, since those would be easier to catch flame. Within a minute the combat gear was fully engulfed in dancing flames. _The fire should be fine left unattended. Meh…the gate looks reliable enough._ Lydia turned on her right heel and limped to the bathroom.

A medium-sized mirror hung on the wall above a plain-looking sink. Lydia found herself gazing at her own body with the help of the mirror in front of her. She was beaten and bruised. Scabs and scars were beginning to form out of the wounds she had received from the plane crash and the torture from Volgen she endured. She bore a few electric burns all over her body, especially around her neck. Her cheek and nose were bruised a light-purple from when Volgen had slapped, punched and smothered her face with his hand.

The split cheek was no fun to look at either. Glancing at her discolored abdomen, she had lost some weight from the deprival of food and water. She could barely recognize herself. From the depressing view, she took the initiative to divert her attention elsewhere. The remainder of the room was plain and had generic white tiles on the walls and the gray on the floor that she saw in the entrance to the building on the first floor. She sat atop the toilet seat's lid and drew back the shower curtain to reveal a large tub.

Her hands moved to the hot and cold water handles and twisted them on. She leaned in and placed her right hand under the flowing water. Once at a warm temperature she liked, it was time to flip the diverter which caused the water to spew out of the shower-head above. Even the sound of the water hitting the ground felt refreshing. . .at least it wasn't ice-cold buckets stinging her bare skin.

Lydia reached to her mid-back and unsnapped her bra, slipping it onto the ground. She slowly unwrapped the bandage around her left thigh, luckily revealing that Ocelot didn't break any of her stitches with his stunt in the other room - from the looks of it, it was probably going to heal nicely with enough care. She then slid off her panties and kicked them by her bra with her right foot.

Turning her head back to the sink area, she spotted a small medicine cabinet, which probable held basic hygienic materials. Opening it, she saw a few unused razors at the very top, which she would gladly use to clean herself up. _I hope this guy doesn't mind if I use one of these._ She snatched one of them and closed the cabinet, redirecting her attention back to the running shower.

Lydia carefully stepped her right foot into the tub and was instantly relieved once the water collided with her bare skin. Almost launching the rest of her body under the running water, she just stood there for a moment, letting the water run all over her body, massaging her battered skin. Her muscles were relaxing under the heat despite some stinging pain from open wounds, especially the one on her left thigh, which was about a day into healing. Slowly, she bowed her head out of the way of the water and sighed.

She opened her eyes having her sight fall on some shampoo which was quickly taken advantage of. After lathering her hair with the shampoo that smelled like lavender, she placed her head back under the water. Next was body wash, which she carefully rubbed all over body; gently massaging any dried blood off of her. Once fully cleaned to the best of her ability she took the razor and touched up the unwanted hair on her lower body and arms. She pleasantly took a few minutes to just stand and enjoy the soothing shower - until there was a knock on the door.

Her shoulders flinched in surprise as she peeked her head from beyond the shower curtain, listening in to the person on the other side of the door way. "I'm coming in." _Ocelot. . .wait, he's coming in?!_ She closed the shower curtain quickly and not too long after heard the door open. "I brought you something to wear. . .and I'm burning these. They're filthy." _Burning what? My underwear? Alright, whatever._ She decided not to say anything and just let him do whatever he needed. Once she heard the door close she turned around and twisted the handles to the left to shut off the flow of water. Lydia drew back the shower curtain and spotted black cotton clothes laid out near the sink. _Alright, being a good guy and getting me something that isn't see through, I suppose he's not too much of a creep._

She slipped on a loose, long-sleeved black cotton shirt and black cotton pants that could hold up with an elastic belt - just her style back at home. Some of her curves could be seen, but nothing too provocative or distracting. Taking a moment to look at herself in the mirror, she brushed her hair back with her fingers and examined her face. _Much better_. She smiled at herself through her lips and proceeded to open the door leading into the living quarter.

Sitting on the love-seat in front of the fireplace was none other than Ocelot, holding a bottle of some brand of Russian lager she spotted in the refrigerator earlier. "I thought Russians liked Vodka."

"Who said I'm Russian?" He held up the bottle in a surrendering motion. "Besides, I'm not a hard-liquor kind of man."

"Cowboys like you drink beer, huh?"

Ocelot turned his torso to glance at her, probably because he was slightly offended. . .but instead she saw him sizing her up. He quickly turned back to face the fire place once their eyes met. Lydia limped her way near the fireplace and sat on a fluffy rug she hardly noticed during her initial exploration of the room; it felt very nice under her bare feet. Ocelot was positioned a few feet behind her, probably trying to decipher her every move. She extended her legs so her feet were closer to the fire, the heat warmed her body quickly, making her sigh in relaxation. "Enjoying yourself?"

"I don't know why you're doing this." Lydia admitted, gazing into the fire. "Why are you _helping_ me?"

"I have my reasons." _He's not giving away anything. . .other than the fact that he's not Russian._ Lydia sighed the vagueness and pulled her damp hair over her right shoulder. She brought her back to the ground and stared up at the ceiling, the rug was extremely comfortable.

"Can I trust you?"

"Looks like you have so far." He said with a slightly annoyed attitude, probably because of the alcohol running through his system.

Lydia gave-up. "Never mind." _I'm just going to stop asking questions_. She could feel his gaze on her, which made her slightly uncomfortable. Lydia tried to ignore it by closing her eyes and taking quiet deep-breaths, trying to calm down and possibly catch some sleep. She could feel herself drifting until she felt Ocelot's feet shift around her.

"Are you really going to sleep on the floor, little girl?" She opened one eye and looked at his face.

"Well, this rug _is_ quite comfortable."

"Women are impossible." He annoyingly stated and stepped over her body, striding in the direction of his bed. _Probably for my sake, I should take up the love-seat._ Lydia shifted her weight to her right side and pushed herself up. Once standing up straight, she witnessed Ocelot taking off his beret, red scarf, and blazer; hanging them all up on two separate coat hooks. His belts and gear were already neatly placed on the ground by his bed. He slid the undershirt over his head, revealing his bare, rather toned back. Lydia blushed as she caught herself gawking at his attractive figure and swiftly plopped down on the couch; making sure to lay down in a direction where she couldn't see him.

"Ocelot?" She quietly questioned. "Can I ask you a question?" her head shifted slightly on the arm-cushion of the love-seat.

"I don't see why not." She heard his spurs rattle from him taking off his boots.

"How many days has it been?"

"Ten."

 _Ten days?_ Lydia closed her eyes in disappointment. _Longer than what I thought. I can't even imagine what's happened to Jack since then. . .I wonder if he knows what happened to the plane?_ She sighed heavily. _No use thinking about it. . .some first mission, but at least there's some hope of me living through this, even if my country denies my entire existence now. It's easier wiping someone off the face of the planet when they virtually don't have any family or social status._ She took a few deep breaths to calm herself down before attempting to sleep. The cushions were better than any material she had sat on - probably because she'd been sitting on a hard floor for over a week. The mere thought of her in that room for ten days almost made her sick to her stomach. Nonetheless, she was offered a life now and that was what she was grateful for. Sleep finally crept up into her consciousness as she feel deep into dream-land given the comfort of the couch.

* * *

Ocelot POV

After stripping off his pants, he gently sat on the edge of his mattress. His head slowly craned to look at the sleeping woman on his couch. _Lydia, huh? So this is the girl Major was talking about._ He extended his legs and stood up, walking to the bathroom. The tiled floor was cold against his bare feet once in the restroom. He placed both of his hands on the bathroom counter and stared at himself in the mirror, examining his face with his own ice eyes. _Surely someday this woman will be useful to me one way or another._ He sighed to himself frustratingly. Taking his right hand, he ran his fingers through his short blonde hair while standing up straight and walking to the shower. He bent down and readied water for a hot shower. Waiting for the water to heat up, he slid off his briefs, soon emerging himself under the flow of water. He let the water trail down his body, sighing in relaxation.

Minutes passed until he was done lathering his hair and body. He stepped out of the tub and grabbed a towel that was located in a cabinet under the sink. He rubbed the soft towel over his skin, then wrapped it around his waist for cover. Holding onto the make-shift knot, with his right hand, he opened the door with his left. The colder air from the room made his skin crawl as he made it toward the bed. He looked toward the woman to see if she was awake. She was lightly snoring from being on her back - sleep was probably something she hadn't gone through with in a while.

Her legs were propped up on the other end of the love-seat; it looked like she had repositioned her head so it was level with her back. He scoffed a the sight and let the towel fall to the ground as he turned to look down at the bed. He pulled back the fluffy white comforter and sheets and crawled under them, pulling them over his waist. He moved his right hand behind his head on top of the fluffy pillow as he stared at the ceiling. Ocelot closed his eyes and sighed only to have her eyes pop up in his head. That bright green shade he had never seen before. There was something about them, so full of determination but had a flame of a carefree but timid nature. The first night in the cell after being tortured by Volgen he met a girl what was undeserving of the fate she was confronted with. Her eyes were filled with sorrow and so much pain and anger, but now. . .their tone was reverted to a leveled state.

People titled him a gifted student of interrogation; he was good at reading people. There was something about this woman that is yet to be discovered that made his heart swell with excitement. This wasn't going to be found through torture, no, she looked like the trusting type. Ocelot grinned at the thought. Although he was impressed at the use of Volgen's sadistic nature in action that wasn't the route he would take. This, _Lydia_ , was probably trained to keep her mouth shut through physical torture, but what about psychological? What about through fear? Fear of losing the only life-line she had left? When she was shown kindness back in the cell, she spilled all kinds of beans. She gave that all away right from the start. Look how easy it was to accept his terms after the phone threat. Volgen was too brutal, this woman needed to be broken down emotionally before she could crack any more than she already had. What would the Major know if he tried a little experiment on her? He had her wrapped around his finger without her knowing a damn thing.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own the MG/MGS Franchise!**

 **Author's note: Thank you to everyone who stopped by and/or subscribed to my story! In my version at home, I'm almost to Peace Walker! Woooooooo! So I was all "I'm gonna celebrate by posting the next chapter early!" So here you go! I hope you enjoy :3**

 **Guest K: Thanks again for another review and here is the next chapter! Lydia needed some damn, grade-A relaxation, and it was about time!**

 **Mature Content Warning: Mentions of assault and tragedy.**

* * *

 **"Come gather 'round people,**

 **Wherever you roam,**

 **And admit that the waters around you have grown.**

 **And accept it that soon,**

 **you'll be drenched to the bone.**

 **If your time to you is worth savin'**

 **Then you better start swimmin' or you'll sink like a stone."  
**

 **-Bob Dylan**

* * *

Lydia's POV

She awoke to the sound of water clashing against the fire no too far away from her. The searing sound startled her awake, expecting to get splashed with ice-cold liquid. Her head turned quickly to see that a fully-clothed Ocelot had snuffed out the fire with a bucket of water. He turned around and noticed that she had awoken. "Awh, did I _startle_ you?" He asked moving toward his dining area. She caught herself sighing in relief as he walked past her. _Asshole._ Lydia hoisted herself up with her arms and almost cringed with how sore she was from sleeping on a soft surface.

"How long was I out? Since your room doesn't have any windows, I can't really tell."

"Well, if you look around you _just_ might be able to discover a clock." Lydia rolled her eyes at his smart-ass response. She turned her torso and examined him sitting on one of the chairs around the small table. Slowly swinging her legs over the side of the couch she stood up and made her way to the bathroom to do her business. Once done, she pulled up her pants, flushed, and walked to the hand sink. She turned on the water and ran her hands under its soothing temperature. She glanced up at the mirror, noticing she had regained a little bit of color in her face - aside from the lightening bruises. She lowered her head closer to the sink bowl and splashed her face with water. She slowly drug her hands down her eyes and cheeks, trying to to be too harsh on the bruises. Opening her eyes, she reached for a near-by hand towel and dabbed her face dry.

Lydia walked out of the bathroom and limped over to Ocelot, staring at the ingredients of a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich sitting on the table. There was already bread set out for her and a banana for good measure. Did he read her mind or something or is this just coincidence? She looked at his sculpted face, his eyes were concentrated on a Russian newspaper.

He must have some secret motive being so nice to her. What did he have up his sleeve, besides his toned muscles? She pulled out the chair and sat down, slowly making herself a sandwich. Once she was done, she unpeeled the banana and watched him read the newspaper. "Where I come from, it's not nice to stare, _Lydia_." He seemingly noticed without moving his eyes. He held the sandwich in his mouth as he flipped a page in the paper.

Lydia raised an eyebrow at the stern use of her name, like a parent was scolding her. Excuse _him_ , he couldn't be much older than she! "And where _do_ you come from? Not from Russia apparently, but you do know the language." She took a bite into the banana and chewed. "And I'm curious…" She examined his eyebrow twitch, probably because she was talking with food in her mouth. "We're out in the middle of no where and you're reading a newspaper…what?"

He took the sandwich out of his mouth and swallowed. "Believe it or not, we have the paper delivered here. We need to know what's going on in the real world." Lydia raised her right eyebrow taking another bite into the banana. Her paranoia sneaked back into her brain. Why was he sparing her? He _has_ some kind of secret motive, but was she just going to live in his room until something happened? He wasn't very threatening even when they were first aquatinted in the cell. There was definitely more to this _Ocelot_ than what meets the eye.

Lydia moved on to her glorious sandwich, and rejoiced the taste at the first bite. Lydia looked back at Ocelot who had shifted his weight in his seat. _I guess I'll play his little game for now until I can find a way out of here. It's going to be hard, but I've figured out more difficult things…I think._ Ocelot stood up from his chair and pushed it back under the table. He casually walked over to his utility belt and strapped it around his waist. "It would be wise not to leave this room while I'm out and about. Heed my warning, little girl, or you might wind up dead."

"Alright. And a good morning to you too, _little boy_." Lydia mocked back, feeling too courageous for her own good. All he did was scoff at the mere insult she spat his way. He did not give her the satisfaction to see the reaction on his face. Ocelot opened the entrance of the bedroom and step out into his office. His spurs were loud, but she noticed that he had left the area entirely. What was with this guy in the first place? The same thought seemed to run through her mind in the little time she had been awake.

 _I should probably get some rest while he is gone. I need to be off my leg anyhow._ Lydia turned her torso to the right to face his bed. . . _Should I?_ She stared at how comfy the covers and pillows looked. Her head moved to her right and spotted a clock on a small dresser that was probably filled with spare clothes. _8:45 a.m.?_ _Hmmmmmm, only for a few hours._ She smiled to herself and limped over to the bed, sitting on the edge. _Oh yeah, this is just what I need._ She adjusted herself so her back was facing the head-board and wormed her way under the covers. So warm. She pulled the covers over her neck and continued to lay on her back, where it was most comfortable. It's been a while since she's slept like a star-fish, and she was not ashamed!

* * *

 _It was the day Jack had taken Lydia to the shooting range - to hone her skills with a rifle she had become acquainted with. In her hand, she gripped the firearm, the hilt was pressed firm against her shoulder for recoil and her index finger on the trigger. "Remember your breathing. If you don't breathe, you're going to miss." In front of her was a cut-out target of a faceless man about fifty yards away. "Fire when you're ready." Inhaling through her nose she eyed the target through the scope on her gun. Exhaling, she pulled the trigger. The bullet whizzed through the air and punctured a large hole where the target's heart would have been. "Good job, kid. You're not half bad with that thing."_

 _Lydia placed the gun in a resting position at her side and turned to look at Jack. "I did learn from the best." She smiled. It had been about a year since Jack had taken Lydia under his wing. Within that short time, Lydia learned the basics of CQC but she was no where near the skill that Jack had. Every match would end with her pinned down in some way! As frustrating as it was, she learned something new everyday from him that would be essential to her survival in the field - if she were to ever be sent out on a mission. Recently, the Major had her swarmed with all kinds of tedious paperwork that regarded breaking codes, making codes, and strategic escapes - something that she enjoyed doing very much; way more than field training._

 _"Now if only you could see the importance of the cardboard box."_

 _"This again?" Lydia sighed, placing the gun inside an open case._

 _"One day, you will find yourself in a predicament where you have no other choice but to resort to one. It just makes you feel…safe." Lydia sighed in response and buckled the case._

 _"It's a good tactic, but I think the Major is pulling my leg making me get trained and all."_

 _"Hmmmm, why's that?" Jack held out his right hand to carry the case. Lydia lifted up the case and handed it to Jack easily._

 _"I mean, why me? I'm made for breaking codes and other means of intelligence, not beating people up and killing them."_

 _"You will make a fine soldier, I can already see it." Jack had no emotion on his face. "Believe it or not, I was in your shoes once before The Boss trained me."_

 _"The Boss? You've mentioned her once before."_

 _"Hmmmmm," he paused, furrowing is eyebrows. "Let's get back to the base." He was a very secretive guy. Lydia could tell that he was not comfortable getting too close to people. This…Boss…she must have really been something. Someone that will pull at his soul for the rest of his life. Someone that would keep his conscious sane all the while watching him dwindle on the border of insanity; only to pull him back once he's stepped over that line. He probably thought about her often… With time, he'll open up - for now she'll focus on training hard to become just as strong as him…maybe even this legendary Boss._

* * *

Lydia opened her eyes after the short recollection of a dream. She looked at the clock and saw it was around 4:00 p.m.. She rubbed her eyes with both of her hands. _It's amazing how tired I was, it didn't feel like I was asleep for that long._ Lydia slowly sat up and gently moved her legs off the side of the bed. She slouched over and placed her head in her hands. _I wonder how Jack is doing? He doesn't even know where I am…_ The thought of him not knowing her whereabouts tore are her heart. She exhaled shakily and stood up.

Lydia turned back to the bed and pulled the covers back to where she found them. Turning to the door, she noticed that it was cracked open. _Oh that's embarrassing._ Lydia rubbed her eyes, pushing the thought of Jack aside. She walked to the door and pressed her back against the wall beside it, listening in on what was going on. Only a few feet away, she heard the sound of guns. . .kind of like they were being thrown around. Lydia peeked around the door frame and spotted Ocelot juggling his pistols. She decided to step into view, slightly mesmerized and impressed at his gun-handling skills.

"Hey," Lydia stared at the guns - partially hoping that one of them would drop just so she had an excuse to laugh. "You're pretty good." She grinned in amusement. Making eye contact with her, he didn't stop spinning them around his fingers and throwing them in different directions. Eventually after a long display of his juggling skills, he sheathed the guns of both sides of his utility belt.

"I had nothing else to do." He walked over to his desk and sat down in the comfy-looking rolling chair, placing his heels on the corner of the desk. "That is, since you were taking up my bed."

"Oh…" Lydia frowned a little and blushed. "My bad." She walked around the perimeter to take her mind off of the subject. On one of the desks around the room, she found a bright green Stuffed Kappa. "Really?"

"Don't ask." Ocelot sighed. Lydia chuckled a little and kept walking around, until she was in short distance of the chair that she occupied two days earlier. She pulled it out and took a seat, staring into Ocelot's blue eyes.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Depends on the question."

"What's in store for me?"

"You've been in this base for what, twelve days now, and you're just now wondering that?" Ocelot's snide comment made her blood boil. "That's all up to you, miss. All I know is that you can't do anything in your condition, I mean your face _still_ looks awful."

Lydia blankly stared at him. Did this guy even know how to talk to a girl? He _was_ the enemy and technically keeping her hostage, but seriously? "Sometimes it seems like you could be a decent guy, but then you go and say things like that."

"I'm not trying to be decent. Believe me, I can throw you out whenever I want." He paused for effect. "You're asking me this because you're afraid of what's behind that door." He pointed to the entrance. The man dropped his hand to his side, stood up and approached her in the chair. He placed both of his hands on the arm rests and leaning his torso down - making Lydia feel super uncomfortable at the invasion of her bubble. "Lydia, you mean something in here." His head moved closer to hers, she couldn't decipher if it was a threatening move or if it was just for added effect. "Once you step out that door, you are reduced to nothing. No one will save you, you will be stripped of everything you are: your name, your words, your life, even your soul will be ripped to shreds and thrown away like you never existed. Do you want that?"

Lydia looked away from his eyes, they were getting too intense. "Look at me." He instantly ordered once she took her eyes away. His tone was nonaggressive and seemed more…concerned than anything else. "I said… _look_ at me." He moved his face to interrupt her zone she was currently staring at. Once blue met green he lifted his right hand off of the arm rest and gently placed the gloved surface on her chin. "Do you?" His motions were very surprising, thinking back on how she was treated while in the cell. Her burning flesh from electrical shock, the bone-crunching punches, verbal harassment, she would honestly rather die than go back to that. "Thought so." Ocelot roughly let go of her chin and stood up, walking back to his chair.

"Once you've had a taste of an environment better than the one you were in, it's kind of hard to nay 'no'." She admitted, examining him sitting roughly back in his chair.

"Well in that case, let's get more acquainted. I would like to know who's taking up my bed-space."

"And _I_ would like to know who's-" She was interrupted by three knocks on the door. Ocelot's eyebrows raised in surprise as his eyes went to the door. Lydia quickly turned in her chair to face the door. _Fuck me._ At the sound of three more loud knocks she slid out of the chair and quickly limped to Ocelot. "Move." She whispered. He rolled back in his chair.

"Major, are you in there?" Voiced a soldier, more than likely from his squad. "The Colonel is on his way, I think he's in the other hall right now."

"Alright, open the door once he's here." Lydia knelt down and examined an opening in the desk where Ocelot's legs would go if he ever sat properly. She crawled inside the opening and flushed her back against the inner wall , crunching her legs up and resting them on the other side. She held a thumbs-up to Ocelot, who scooted back to his original position, propping his heels up on the desk.

"Out of my way." The deep voice of the Colonel was one she didn't want to hear ever again. "Ocelot!" The door violently crashed open, followed by strong, heavy footsteps.

"Ahhh Colonel, to _what_ do I owe the pleasure of _your_ company?"

"That _bitch_ is really gone, isn't she?" Lydia could feel the accusatory anger in his voice. Did he really want to torture her that badly? The more he spoke, she could feel more uncomfortable sitting under the desk.

" _I_ wasn't the one who underestimated her." _Nice._ Lydia rolled her eyes. If that didn't upset Volgen, what would?

"You better watch your mouth with me, little boy, or it might end up somewhere you don't want it to be." The tone of his voice totally gave away sexual aggravation.

"Is that a threat?" She saw Ocelot's boots glide down in front of her from the top of the desk. He pushed his chair back. " _What_ do you want?"

"I want you to send out a squad to look for her. We still have a lot of things to… _discuss_."

"Before she escaped I sent one of my own to go check on her status, that's apparently when he discovered her violently assaulting _your_ men. Whatever your men told her probably gave her the last incentive to escape. . .which she did flawlessly may I add. Stealing an Ocelot Unit uniform? No one would even bat an eye seeing her _walk_ by. Trust me, she's long gone by now. If not eaten by a wild animal, she's probably starved to death."

"But we don't KNOW she's dead." Lydia heard a loud bang from above her - which was probably Volgen's fist hitting the top of Ocelot's desk. Ocelot scoffed at his violent action, probably upsetting Volgen more by how calm he was.

"My men are the best trackers in Union. If they can't find her by the end of tomorrow she's gone for good - alive or dead." He shifted his feet and Lydia examined his legs extending so he was standing up. Her eyes followed his spurs as he walked around the corner of his desk. "Besides, why don't you send The Pain who can cover more land?"

"There's somewhere else he's needed." Volgen said this through his teeth.

"Then leave it be. The Ocelot Unit will do what they can. To ease your mind, I'll send out five more men in the opposite direction to see if they can find her. I've already interrogated the soldier that she stuffed in the janitor closet and he didn't give me too much. By all means, if you think that he's hiding something else, go ahead and ask him yourself."

"Tch." Volgen spat.

"In that case Colonel, and if you don't need anything else, I'll show you out." The sound of Ocelot's spurs diminished the closer he got to the door. She heard the creaking of the door as it opened and the large, heavy footsteps as Volgen exited. No doubt there was some intense staring involved. "Hey you." He spoke, probably to a soldier. "Go find the four closest men and go searching to the East for the escaped prisoner. Keep a twenty-mile radius and report to me once you're done."

"Yessir, Major Ocelot!" Lydia heard the door close.

"You can come out now." Lydia exhaled loudly and slowly crawled out of the small space. Before her, Ocelot was holding out his right hand for her to take to help her off the ground. She reached up and grabbed a hold of his strong-gloved hand. He hoisted her up a little too fast for comfort as she collided with his chest. Lydia blushed and backed up into the desk at impact. She instantly looked at the ground at impact. "Have something to say to me?" He was a snarky one, that's for sure.

Lydia made eye contact with him and blushed a little more than before, she could feel her face's temperature rise. "T-thank you." She looked back down at the tiled floor.

"Now that _that's_ over with, where were we?" He approached her. "Oh that's right." He stopped about a foot in front of her. "You were getting off of my desk." His eyes were cold and staring daggers into her. _Jeez_. Lydia frowned and brushed against Ocelot's shoulder as she walked toward his living quarter. She suddenly felt his gloved hand grab onto her left wrist. "Hold on there, we're not done here." She was quickly spun around and backed up against the wall behind her now, close to the entrance of his bedroom. His hands rested on both sides of her head. "I'm not letting you go until you tell me something of importance. If you're going to stay here, unharmed, you're going to have to live by _my_ rules. Understand?" All she did was stare into his icy eyes. "Let's go with this: every time I've saved your life you tell me one thing about yourself that's important to your identity."

". . .Isn't that a little unfair?"

"If you didn't have an identity, you wouldn't be important to me, now would you?"

"I-i-important to…" Lydia raised an eyebrow at his advance. Was he _really_ going there? "Are you _really_ going there? Jesus, I _suppose_ that's fair. How many times have you saved me? There's just now - " For now she would play along with his little 'game'. Ocelot stepped away and held out a fist, holding up his index finger. He was pacing back and forth, he probably liked to hear the sound of his spurs when he walked.

"Just now." _One_. "Med-kit." _Two_. "Keeping you here." _Three_. "Feeding you." _Four._ "Providing you with the means to maintain your personal hygiene." _Five…wait._

"Personal hygiene, really?" Lydia rolled her eyes.

"Who knows what type of infections your leg or face would have gotten if you didn't shower. Or what type of bugs would be in your hair!" He sure was dramatic, then cleared his throat to bring his voice down. "Let me continue." He waved his five fingers in the air. "Letting you sleep as long as you want." _Fair six._

"Alright Ocelot. If you want six things, let me tell you six things." She breathed in to tell him the most random thing about her until he interrupted. "I'm probably going to be here forever anyway."

"You have to answer all of my questions. And don't you dare think about lying to me." He threatened.

"Goddammit, and here I thought I was going to get away with telling you that I'm a dog person."

"That's good to know, but not relevant." He opened the bedroom door further and signaled her to go in. "Ladies first."

"Ugh." Lydia sighed and followed his command into the room, limping toward the love-seat and sitting down on the comfy cushion. Ocelot wasn't too far behind and took the place right next to her, letting his left arm rest on the back of the couch. "Shoot."

"Hahaa, be careful with that statement, I just might." He winked. _Oh. My. God._ Lydia wanted to face-palm so bad in that moment, but couldn't afford to. "So Lydia, question one: where are you from?"

"Denver, Colorado, USA."

"So eager to give away your country so soon?"

"Is that the second question…or?"

"No, just wondering."

"I have nothing to lose."

"Alright, question two: why?"

"I have no immediate family. No one to connect me to. It felt like I was bouncing between border schools and foster homes my entire life. I am literally _nonexistent_ to my country. And now that I am technically MIA or KIA, they probably burnt everything to the ground…like I said…I'm probably going to be in your company for forever." Ocelot forced a frown and nodded. Lydia raised an eyebrow at his mocking gesture.

"Question three: who's they?"

"CIA."

"Figures. Question four: how old are you?"

"Eighteen." Ocelot raised one eyebrow in interest.

"Question five: why would they send someone so young on a suicide mission? From my deductions you were probably here for assassination."

"You would be correct, there's no denying that. I graduated early and was hired right out of high school as a decoding intelligence agent. I was, how you say, a prodigy?" Ocelot closed his eyes and nodded at her self-praise. "I really had nothing else to do other than study and place all of my time into the work in front of me and random ciphers I came across. I was trained for the field a few months into my employment and here I am two years later. I'm still not too sure why they wouldn't send someone with more experience."

"Last question: you say you don't have any immediate family. . .what happened to them?"

"Suicide." The look on Ocelot's face was very intriguing, like he _wanted_ to know more about her past. Although she was tempted to keep going she didn't. Ocelot slid the beret off of his head with his right hand and placed it on the small table that was placed in front of the love seat.

"Did your life stop here?" His eyes moved from his beret to her eyes again.

"In a way." Lydia shrugged. "I don't really have a choice but to continue my chapters here, no matter where it will lead. On the other hand, I'm also pretty confident that my life is going to end with me staring down the barrel of a gun." With his left hand that was draped over the back of the couch, he took about an inch of Lydia's blonde hair in-between his gloved fingers.

"Hmmm, you are a smart girl. Accepting death at such a young age." He let the hair slip from his fingers, letting it fall to her body.

"What about you?" Lydia sized him up. "You probably aren't any older than I am. What makes you think that death isn't knocking on your door."

"You kidding? I've been living with death since the beginning. Do you _see_ the people I live around?" He was probably talking about Volgen and god knows who else could be in that hell-hole. Lydia chuckled at the comedic string in his voice.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Lydia's eyes trailed to the pistol on his right hip. "Do you mind?" She held out her right hand.

"Are you going to shoot me?" He raised an eyebrow, probably because they were just talking about death not even a minute ago.

"If you don't trust me, then empty out the clip." She responded with just enough snark. Ocelot shifted on the cushion and took the gun out, twirling it around his right index finger before holding it out for her to take it. He was smart, he sat to where he could easily pull out his left gun and turn it on her if she were to try anything funny. "Calm down, I'm just looking. My mentor back home had an eye out for all kinds of guns - he was a walking dictionary about them, I swear." Lydia lightly took the gun out of his hand an examined it.

Lydia unloaded the clip then slammed it back into the gun. She aimed the pistol to the ground. "Twelve round Makarov, not bad but super common. If you're going to kill me, it better not be with this thing. I'm surprised you can even do those fancy tricks with this thing." Lydia chuckled. Ocelot snickered and held his hand out again. Lydia made sure to point the barrel away from him and place it in his hand. He threw the gun up in the air, caught it, spun it a few times and placed it back in his holster. He didn't even have to break eye contact with her to do it. Feeling a gun in her hands again was a little liberating, but part of her wished it was a rifle.

"I take it your not a fan of Russian firearms?"

"Oh please, I've fired a Russian Dragunov sniper, let me tell you that thing could pack a punch. It was easy to fire and definitely hit the target if you knew how to aim a rifle." Lydia remembered back to when she fired her first rifle at the shooting range. "The Russians aren't bad, but the US sure knows how to make their weapons that's for sure."

"Indulge me, what was your favorite one?"

"Oh man there are so many." Her eyes lit up. "I would say the Remington 700. Out of all the rifles I shot, that one would always be my preferred weapon of choice."

"So your a sniper?"

"Nah, not necessarily. If I were to partake in combat I would try to stay mid-range with an A.R.. Otherwise I would try and stick to stealth." Ocelot hummed and stood up.

"Something to drink, rifle girl?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"I hear that in the US, it's illegal to drink alcohol before you're twenty-one." Lydia's eyes followed him as he walked over to his refrigerator. He soon pulled out a bottle of Kubanskaya vodka.

"Oh, _that_ kind of drink. I'm alright with water."

"As a guest of mine, you are obliged to accept one alcoholic beverage in my presence."

"Fine." Lydia examined him pick up two scotch-like glasses and bring them to her. He held out his hand and she took a glass. Ocelot took back his seat and opened the bottle of vodka. "I've never had alcohol before."

"Oh well you're in for a surprise." He poured the chilled drink in her glass, enough to fill it half-way. He then poured the same amount in his glass. Ocelot placed the bottle down on the small table and held his glass closer to hers for a cheers. "After we say a toast, all you do is down it in one big gulp."

"Seriously? Here I thought you were a beer guy."

"Yes and yes, but some situations cause for good old fashioned liquor." Ocelot grinned, a little too amused. "So…to _you_ , having your first drink with a complete stranger." He toasted.

"…to me, I guess." She agreed and tapped glasses. In one flail motion she placed the glass to her lips and quickly swallowed the liquid. The liquid burned her throat as it made its way down her esophagus. She coughed into the crease of her elbow as her eyes started to tear up. "Wha-" she coughed again. "Does it _always_ taste like that?!" She swallowed some saliva and moved her green eyes to meet the chuckling Ocelot. "What?"

"Sorry," He placed the drink to his lips and took the shot with ease. He exhaled through his mouth and smelt the strong aroma. "It was funny witnessing your first reaction to such a strong drink, but you took it well."

"Never again." She sighed. "I'm _not_ going to get drunk with you Ocelot."

"Come on, you're not going anywhere anyway. Why not let go? The Russians make excellent Vodkas."

"Because, Ocelot," She stressed his name as he poured himself another shot. "You are an animal. I can't drink with an animal." He poured the next glass down like it was nothing.

"Well in that case, you can be the human and put this away. Grab us the gallon of water that's sitting in the fridge." He placed the glass bottle on top of her legs. "Well, what are you waiting for?" She rolled her eyes in protest and stood up, limping her way to the fridge. She heard Ocelot stand up and grab some wood that was placed in the corner by the fireplace. Grabbing the water from the fridge, she made her way back to the couch and took a seat where she was before, watching Ocelot tend to the fireplace.

He lit a match and threw it onto the wood. The fire slowly spread and soon was bright enough to light up the entire room. The warmness radiated to her skin, making her feel ten times more comfortable - despite the shot of liquor running through her system. She poured some water in the glass Ocelot was using and then into her own.

"So, Ocelot, are you ever going to tell me your real name?" From looking into the fire, he turned around and lightly laughed.

"What's wrong with Ocelot? What _if_ I was named after a predator?"

"I guess that's OK, it just sounds a hell of a lot like a code name, hence your squad being named 'Ocelot' as well."

"Oh wow, you really _are_ smart." He said sarcastically. Lydia rolled her eyes and sipped her glass of refreshing water. Ocelot strode over to her and sat in the spot he occupied before. "How's your leg?"

"Last time I checked, still healing. I can put a little more weight on it." He reached over and placed his gloved hand on her left thigh, making her shiver. Her eyes quickly found his hand as it lingered on the pant leg. She shifted her vision to look at his face. His bright blue eyes were almost in a trance as he was looking at her left thigh where she had been injured. She felt his thumb rub against the wound, lightly moving across some of the stitches. She felt a light irritation on the healing skin. But…his touch was so gentle.

 _How could someone belong to the enemy and yet treat her like a house-guest? Maybe he's lonely? He probably wants to break me in a way that's humane. I can't tell if he's acting or if he actually cares, he's pretty good._ Ocelot sighed which broke her train of thought. "What's wrong?" Her first-instinct question, which she quickly regretted asking, due to the physical circumstance she was just in.

"Nothing." He removed his hand from her thigh and stood up. He finished his glass of water and walked to his bed. On his way, Ocelot unbuttoned his jacket and hung it up on the coat-hook. _What's going through his head?_ He sat on the edge and took off his boots. Lydia turned away from him, sensing that he was going to get undressed further. She reached to the gallon of water and poured herself another glass. She took a few sips and placed the glass back down on the table. She shifted her position and lifted both of her legs onto the cushions. Lydia sighed in mental defeat as she turned to her head to watch the fire.

The crackling of the wood was very soothing, almost like a lullaby. Lydia closed her eyes, but heard bare footsteps walk toward her. She opened her eyes and tilted her head back to see Ocelot had walked into view, taking up the space in one of the chairs. He was wearing a loose black cotton shirt, similar to the one she was wearing, and long black cotton pants. It was odd seeing him in something other than his usual military garb - kind of a breath of fresh air. He propped his head up on his right hand and stared at the resting Lydia.

"Are you lonely?" Lydia shifted her gaze up to the ceiling.

"Are you?" Ocelot answered softly. His question tugged at her heart-strings. She was suddenly overcome with depression as she thought of Jack. How he wouldn't even know if she was dead or alive. He was the closest thing she had to a father, someone that taught her about the world and gave her advice. Starting out strictly business, he grew on her more and more every day they were together. Training with Jack was for those two years were the best times of her life. The bond of friendship she shared with Jack could never be broken. She looked up to him not only as a mentor…but as a father, and just like that…he was gone just as fast as he arrived. She never had anyone treat her the way Jack did, he was one of a kind.

Then here comes Ocelot, treating her like a normal human-being. Lydia could feel her eyes tear up and she moved her left forearm over her eyes to cover the evidence that she was about to cry. How could someone she had only known for a few days affect her like this? She wasn't sure if it was just the overwhelming feeling of homesickness or if he was really affecting her. This just wasn't in her character to be like this. Her emotional wall was made of titanium, but Ocelot found a way to dent it somehow. A tear made her way down her temple and onto the cushion below her. With this, she felt a hand wrap around her left wrist and gently take it away from shielding her eyes. Her green eyes met with Ocelot's bright blues. They were so soothing to look at, something about them were calm, just like looking into a clear blue sky. His skin was cold, which quickly warmed the surface he was holding onto.

Ocelot sighed with slight annoyance in his breath, "Come here." He wrapped her left arm around his neck and carefully placed his right arm behind her back, being careful not to pull on her long hair; meanwhile he moved his left arm under her knees, gently lifting her off the couch. Lydia felt more silent tears fall from her eyes as Ocelot carried her across the room, laying her down on his bed.

Lydia went to cover her eyes again, but Ocelot stopped her hand, taking it with his own. He sat on the edge of the bed and looked into her blood-shot eyes. "I don't know what to do with a crying girl so you better not be doing this all night - it's just annoying." Ocelot let go of her hand and stood up. He walked over to the couch and stared into the fire. Turning her attention to the ceiling, Lydia wiped away her tears with her arm and closed her eyes, waiting for sleep to take her to the next day.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS franchise!**

 **Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who subscribed to my story and/or stopped by the check it out! Here is the next addition; I hope you enjoy! :3**

 **Update: 9/28/16! I went in and I fixed a type that was totally out of left field x'D It made me lol tbh. "Pushed her furniture down the alleyway" ha! I don't know how "further" could be auto-corrected by "furniture" but whatever! Sorry I didn't catch that during my pre-read! And if you have reviewed this chapter I can't read it** **somehow...I've contacted FanFiction to see if they could fix the issue. As of now there are 10 reviews, but I only have access to 8 of them. Odd...I know. Hopefully it is fixed soon! Alright that's enough from me! Enjoy the story :3**

 **Mature Content Warning: Sexual themes**

* * *

 **"Sometimes late when things are real,**

 **And people share the gift of gab between themselves,**

 **Some are quick to take the bait a** **nd catch the perfect prize that waits among the shelves."**

 **-America**

* * *

The next few days were excruciatingly slow. Ocelot had disappeared somewhere and Lydia was left all by herself in that small space to think and think…and think some more. It was now May 30th, nineteen days since the departure of her compromised mission. The 'kindness' of Ocelot, whom had taken her in, gave her time to heal and pull herself back together. But now in his long absence, she had no idea what to do and quickly became bored. All she did for the past few days was sleep, shower, eat, stare at the Russian newspaper, and sleep again. Although the relaxation was needed, she became restless and started to think she was being useless to herself. Why was she allowing herself to be cooped up like this? She's supposed to be an agent for Pete's sake, not some _house pet_. Lydia slapped her palm on her forehead and stood up straight out of Ocelot's bed.

"Alright kitty-cat, you have got to have some extra clothes in here somewhere." Lydia walked over to his dresser and opened up some drawers, finding some neatly-folded uniforms…just what she was looking for. She clicked her tongue and pulled out the familiar items that Ocelot wore. She sized them up and down. _Might be a little big, but enough to pass by._ She slipped off the cotton clothes he provided her to roam around in and slowly put on the uniform. Her thigh had healed into a slightly comfortable state and the bruises were now absent from most of her body and her face - feeling at ease when she looked at herself in the mirror. Sliding on Ocelot's clothes, she reached for the face-mask he had stored away. _It's a good thing he has one of these laying around - I mean, is he just so narcissistic that he doesn't want to wear one? That kinda defeats the purpose of being…uniform….oh well._ Lydia slid the mask over her face and walked to the bathroom.

"Excellent." She spoke, adjusting the mask to fit better over her eyes. "I can pass for a guy!" She turned to look at her back. "With a really cute butt…" She sighed…"Oh wait, I forgot!" She lightly jogged back to the dresser and pulled out the black jacket she was missing as well as an extra utility belt, and the red beret being hung on the coat hanger that was conveniently placed not too far away. She slid on the jacket and strapped on the utility belt, which was armed with a few supplies and no weapon. _Dammit Ocelot, could you at least leave one of your guns here? Of course freakin' not!_ Lydia sighed in annoyance and walked back to the bathroom to look at herself in the mirror. She placed the beret on top of her head and nodded at herself. _Alright, alright, alright! You are now an Ocelot soldier, congrats!_ Lydia chuckled at the thought.

"Time for a plan." She spoke out loud. "Find some kind of pistol or A.R. so you look normal, find Ocelot, ask Ocelot if you could be a part of the group instead of being cooped up and bored half to fucking death." She nodded at herself in the mirror. "Alright." She turned around and walked to the door leading into his office. She opened the door and walked into the spacious area. _If I'm not being any use to America, might as well be of use to someone else undercover. Pulling a double agent here._ Lydia sighed and walked across the room, placing her gloved hand on the door leading out into the hall.

Opening the door she was greeted with a "What the-?!" _Of course, you're getting rusty Lydia._ She rolled her eyes and held up her hands. "Who are you?!"

Lydia raised her eyebrow in sassiness. "Do you not remember the major bringing me here a few days ago?" She tried her best to sound like a male, it was pretty passable in her opinion.

"Uhhh, I wasn't posted a few days ago." The soldier let his guard down, placing his automatic rifle at ease.

"It seems that the Major has grown a liking to me and wanted to show me his…" Lydia paused and placed a finger on her chin. " _Gratitude_." Well it wasn't entirely false.

"G-g-gra-?!" The man seemed surprised at the sudden jerk in his body. "Oh boy." She could see blush start to creep up over the eye-holes in his mask, man his head was way too far south. What is it with men?

"Uhhh hey, I kinda lost my pistol in the fray these past few days." She scratched the back of her head, attempting to look embarrassed. "Do you think I can borrow yours until I find it?"

"Y-y-yeah sure. Anything for the Major's lover." The guy unclipped his pistol from the holster and handed it over to her. _That was easy._

"Thanks man." She grabbed the pistol and placed it in her own holster. "Now, do you happen to know where the Major is right now? He left without telling me."

"Y-y-yeah sure, he's probably outside in the courtyard." He pointed behind him with his thumb.

"Thanks again, man." Lydia straightened herself and began to walk.

"Uhhh, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"How was it?" the guy looked like a fangirl as he inched his was closer to Lydia. "I mean, how was _he_?"

She placed her index finger to where her lips would be. "Do you promise not to tell anyone?"

"Y-y-yeah! Just give me the details!" She saw his hold on to his gun a little tighter in excitement.

"Alright if you want it, I'll give it to you." She grinned through her mask. _I'm gonna make this guy look at Ocelot weird for the rest of his life._ She prepared herself for the fan-boy rant of her lifetime. "When he invited me into his quarters I didn't know what to expect. He always told me I did a great job after all the deployments. And even looking for that girl, I mean, I found some of her tracks but that was all. But at this the Major was impressed and insisted I see him back here. Once I walked into his room, he pinned me against a wall and threw off my beret!" The guy's eyes were so wide - he was way too in to this story. "Anyway, let me just say, he's the _dominant_ type."

"I _knew_ it." The man eagerly stated back.

"No one back home could _ever_ give me what the Major had just given me these past few days."

"YOU WENT FOR A FEW _DAYS_?!"

"Well, you know. After he was spent, he was spent. But when he wanted me…well…he wanted me."

"You lucky bastard."

"Hahaa, if you say so." She winked. The soldier patted her on the back. "I gotta go catch the Major now. Remember your lips are sealed, man!"

"Forever and ever!" He was gushing with fan-boy out of all of his pores as she walked through the other door at the end of the hallway. _Jeez, that was fun._ She chuckled to herself as she made her way through the familiar pathway that one guy led her through. Good thing she was born with such a good photographic memory, otherwise she would be lost in an instant. Lydia made her way to the entrance doors and walked out into he sunlight she missed so much.

The sun touched what little skin was showing through the eye holes in the mask, but it still felt so nice to be under its rays. Letting her eyes adjust to the sudden change, she found herself looking around the dull compound under slightly better circumstances than before. To the north of her stood some soldiers from the Ocelot unit conversing with one another. All around her were various storage areas and different buildings - one of them for sure harbored the mother of all weapons. In the mean time, she decided to walk to the large group of men that were huddled together. Turning her head left and right, she tried to spot Ocelot before he spotted her…but he was no where to be found.

"Hey you, just in time! We're about to set out."

"Yeah, my bad. I slept in." Lydia responded. "Are we going with the Major today?" She shot in, just in curiosity.

"I don't know." Interjected another man. "I mean it would be cool if he showed up, he always get's the blood pumping!"

"Put your dick in your pants." Another one laughed, followed by a few chuckles from other soldiers. "He's probably busy doing something with the other GRU members."

"As per frickin' usual." Sighed another random soldier. Lydia looked around at the guys and counted twelve, minus herself.

"So what's going on?" She questioned there soldier that noticed she was almost late.

"Did you miss the briefing too?" Through his mask, she could tell he cocked up his eyebrow. "I don't think I've seen you before…are you new?"

The rest of the ocelot crew turned in curiosity, some crossing their arms, and others putting their hands on their pistol holsters.

"Yep, I was brought in about a week ago. I was being trained by the major himself!"

"You serious?" The man looked unamused by his sudden change in body posture. "The Major never does that to anybody…like….ever."

"Uhhhhh yeah. And that's why I missed the briefing, I was getting used to the place."

"And you just _happened_ to stumble on our little abode?"

"No, I was told to come here. Like I said before, I slept in."

"Well, the Major is pretty big on being on time and in uniform - so I suggest you work on that newbie." He smiled through his mask - the other members chuckled and whispered at one another. "What's you're name soldier? We'll teach the ropes on how to be a true ocelot…well not as good as what the Major can teach you but….we'll try our best."

"Carlsbad." She confidently said, impressed at the sudden makeup of her new name, saluting her right hand to her temple. "Nice to finally meet all of you."

"American bastard! At least you defected!" Joked one of the guys.

"Yeah, I didn't belong there. I came to the motherland and just loved it here so much more." _Oh my god, this feels so weird, belittling my home like that._

"Good for you!" the guy patted her on the back and turned to the rest of the squad. "Well men, if the Major was going to be here he would've been here by now, so let's get started. Our mission today, since this newbie wasn't at the briefing, is to continue our search for that American girl who attacked Marco." _Oh…..lovely I bet ten-to-one they're not going to find me!_ "We're going to investigate the site of the plane crash and see if we missed anything, any important documents, or any other thing that could lead to her business origin. If she were to go back somewhere, it would be there."

"Yessir!" They all saluted.

"Alright, let's get a move on!" The crowd of red berets moved toward the south end of the building. _It's been over two weeks and they hadn't searched the plane crash yet? Wow, alright. You would think they would give up on me or something._ Just as they all approached the gate, a very familiar _meow_ echoed through the air.

"MEEEEEEOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWW!" All the soldiers gasped and turned to the north, placing their arms behind their backs and stood erect. Lydia followed suit and examined Major Ocelot walking to them, spurs and all. "Ocelots!" He spread out his arms, acting like he wanted a hug from his children. "What a lovely morning to be out! I know all of you were going to search the site of the crash, but it looks like that was already done a few days ago."

"What are we going to do then, Major?" Lydia questioned. Ocelot looked in her direction and started flaunting his pistols in his hands, eventually, placing one back into one of his holsters, and the other at her feet firing not one moment after - just missing her right foot. Lydia's eyes did not leave Ocelot, who was narrowing his at her - a look she had gotten used as time passed. Slowly he approached her and glared into her eyes, soon forming a small grin on his face.

"Ocelots! Have you all had the pleasure of meeting this young _man_?" His eyes left her and he faced to the rest of the squad.

"Yes! Carlsbad is an excellent addition to the team, sir!"

" _Carlsbad_ , huh?" Ocelot placed his hands on his hips. "Well, you know what happens to recruits when they step out of order? They embarrass themselves."

"Sir!" Sounded off all of them. Lydia was honestly very confused as to what was happening.

"Well, go ahead." Ocelot moved his hands to Lydia, signaling for the crowd of ocelots to do something. One by one the soldiers formed a line in front of her. The first individual approached her and grabbed her red beret, tearing it off of her head. A public shaming by stripping off the offender's clothes? Lydia stared at the next man, _this is what I get, huh? God dammit Ocelot it's all over now._ The next soldier walked up to her and gripped the bottom of her back mask that would reveal everything that she fought to keep hidden all this time. Nineteen days… With one flail swoop, the mask was torn off her head.

Closing her eyes, Lydia felt her long blonde hair fall to her back, the warm air hit her naked face. Multiple soldiers gasped as she opened her bright green eyes. They all stood at arms; pointing multiple weapons at her. Lydia sighed and kept her hands at her sides. "What do we have here? A little _mouse_?"

 _What am I going to do now?_ Thoughts were racing through Lydia's mind. _I have no choice but to escape now. He warned me…I'm nothing now. I have to find a way out of this situation…once Ocelot lets his guard down, I'll be sure to figure something out and break free._

Ocelot walked between Lydia and the surprised soldiers. "What did you think you were going to get away with?" He moved closer to her, all the more intimidating. She glared into his light eyes. "Ocelots, _this_ is the woman we've all been looking for." He turned toward his troops. _Shouldn't have turned your back!_ Lydia grinned at Ocelot's new blind spot. She reached for her pistol in the right holster and wrapped her left arm around Ocelot's neck, placing the gun to his temple. Ocelot was slightly surprised by the feel of his tense body.

"M-major!" The Ocelot crew was just as surprised. "You! Sound the alarm, we found the girl!"

"Wait! Stop!" Major Ocelot ordered out to the man who turned to run to the alarm switch. The soldier stopped and craned his attention back to the restrained Ocelot. "Do you not _see_ she has a gun held to my HEAD?" Ocelot was clearly angry with his troops.

"S-sorry sir!"

"You can let go now." Ocelot choked out under her tight grasp.

"What are you talking about?" Lydia harshly whispered in his ear.

"I have a plan, just let me go before any GRU soldiers see you." His voice was quiet enough to not be heard by the other troops. Deciding o trust her gut, she let him go and holstered the weapon. "Ocelots, this _woman,_ Carlsbad, does happen to be our newest recruit." His face showed slight disgust. The soldiers stood down, some of the whispering among themselves. "I captured her soon after she escaped and… _convinced_ her to defect to the Union." The soldiers looked at each other. "Not only is she new, but…" Ocelot wrapped his left arm around her shoulder, standing close to her side. Lydia tensed up in reaction. "The past few weeks, she has proven herself useful to me in more ways than one. From here on out, to you, she is my second-in-command and my lover."

Lydia couldn't see the looks on their faces, but she could tell some of them were gaping through their masks. Blush crept up to her cheeks and the tips of her ears became hot. _LOVER?! I mean, I was joking about it earlier, but LOVER?!_ Ocelot continued. "This was not a decision made by the GRU; and they have no idea that she's still live. So I expect you to _not_ share this information with them." Ocelot moved his arm and placed his left hand on top of her head. "All of you, continue your jobs as I say - nothing has changed. When I send you out to look for her, think of it as a nice… _break_ from your usual duties." All of the soldiers stood at attention and chimed a 'yessir'! "All of you, spread out and begin your mission." Without another word, the soldiers separated in different directions to go search for…nothing.

Ocelot grabbed Lydia's arm roughly and dragged her in a shaded alleyway, blocked from view. He threw her against the wall and pinned her from moving. "What kind of stunt was that? Do you realize what you've done?"

"Ocelot, all I want is to do something productive." Lydia stated, eye contact unmoving. "I thought I was going to have to escape just then…but maybe not." Lydia sighed with relief. _I can work my way into tip-top shape now and still have shit to do! Well…if Ocelot agrees to my request that is._ Ocelot seemed to be searching for something deeper in her consciousness. "I can't just sit by in that damn room for the rest of my life. America left me behind. To be honest, you are all I have now. Although I am your prisoner, I think of you as my only ally. I am forever in your debt for allowing me to regain my strength and keeping me from the GRU, KGB or whoever is after me. Please…Ocelot let me do this. Let me in." Ocelot moved his right hand from beside her head and brushed some hair behind her ear, soon wrapping his hand on her bare skin. His skin was cold as pressure was lightly placed, guiding her head closer to his. Ocelot's eyes stared into her own the closer he got. "Ocelot, what are you _doing_?" Lydia whispered, feeling slightly uncomfortable.

His warm breath hot on her lips. "You've shown that you can trust me, but with that stunt you just pulled…you held my life in your hands. Can _I_ really trust _you_?"

"Yes." Lydia's eyes moved to and from his eyes and lips. "I didn't shoot, right? You wouldn't be here right now if I wanted to kill y-" Something bought Lydia's attention. She tuned in to the noises around her… heavy footsteps! "Someone's coming." She whispered, recognizing the weight of the noise. "There's never a dull moment in this place."

"Where?" Ocelot didn't look away from her eyes.

"Around the corner, about ten meters. Volgen."

"You better move - without that mask you don't have anything protecting you. Get out of here." He removed his hand and pushed her further down the alley way. "What are you waiting for? _Move_." He quietly ordered. Lydia bit her bottom lip and lightly treaded down the alley way, turning to the right once she reached an opening. Above her, she spotted a fire-escape within jumping distance. Time to see if she still retained some of her upper body-strength. She rubbed her hands together, something she did often back when she was training with Jack before they did some kind of upper-body work-out. He would always question her about the tick but it was something that grew on him the more and more they trained together.

At the small recollection, Lydia smiled and jumped up to reach the pull-down ladder. She came a few inches short. Landing on the concrete soft she sighed and glared daggers at the ladder. _Alright Lydia, fucking jump like your life depends on it._ She shut her eyes and sighed at her inward joke. _Well, I guess my life really does depend on it…ha._ Stepping a few paces back she rubbed her hands together again, preparing herself for the high jump. She looked at the wall adjacent to the fire escape and quickly thought of a dandy plan. She took off light, making sure not to injure herself again. Leaping lightly off her left foot she launched to the wall, gaining leverage with her right foot against the surface. Using the momentum gained, she pushed off the wall and reached for the ladder, grabbing ahold, and pulling it down toward the ground successfully. "Gotcha."

Looking around, she examined that the coast was clear and began to climb. Once at the top of the metal escape she was one pull-up away from the flat roof. She latched onto the edge of the roof and hoisted herself up, making sure to stay crouched. Looking around the dull area, it wasn't too hard to find the hatch that led inside the building. She slowly creeped her way to the door, making sure not the attract any unwanted attention. Placing her hand on the door, she opened the hatch. Down below was another ladder that led into an empty room with no windows.

 _Alright, here we go!_ Lydia slowly crawled down the ladder and into the dark room. Closing the hatch above her, she soon descended to the ground. Letting her eyes adjust to the darkness, she looked around the room, hoping to spot a door of some kind. _Ocelot is definitely up to something._ She reminisced about how close he was before Volgen had interrupted. _He's not just doing this for 'trust', he's wanting to reel me in somehow. I'm not going to fall for that shit. Sure I can still play along with his little 'game' he's playing. He's NOT going to get in my head. When I'm healed up and find a way to escape, I'll get out of here and back to America. I swear it._

Lydia narrowed her eyes as she finally stepped on a hatch that led to another room below her. _Gee, why do these Russian's like trap doors so much?_ She sighed and placed her fingers around the cold, metal handle. She slowly cracked it open to listen to her surroundings. No sound of any soldiers. Lydia opened the hatch just enough to slip out and land on the tiled floor below. The door, louder than what she wanted, closed with rapid speed on her way down. Her shoulders shuttered, causing her to look up at the door - cursing at it's loud sound. _Jack would be so disappointed._ She shook her head and examined her surroundings. _Ok, this seems to be Ocelot's building - now time to make it back into the room._

Casually walking down the hallways, now that she had her ass covered, she walked down a few flight of stairs until her surroundings looked familiar. _Ahhh, here we go._ She turned a corner and saw the familiar door that led into the hallway before Ocelot's office. Swinging the door open, the guard that she talked to earlier jumped in surprise and held his pistol toward her. "WHAT THE?! HEY!"

"W-w-wait! It's not what you think! The Major will explain everything!" She held up both of her hands, signaling her surrender. "Just let me in the office."

"N-no! You STUFFED me in a CLOSET you BITCH." He readied his finger on the trigger.

"Do you NOT see the uniform I'm wearing? I was with the Major this entire time! I mean I walked out of this room earlier!"

"That was a _man_!"

"Could you be even more dense?" Lydia questioned, walking toward the soldier.

"S-stop moving or I'll shoot!"

"Yeah right. You don't have the guts."

"I sai-!"

"What's going on here?" Ocelot always there to save the day. His voice was agitated, probably from his conversation with Volgen.

"Sir! Intruder!"

"What are you talking about?" Lydia did not take her gaze away from the soldier. "Drop your weapon, Marco."

"But sir-!"

"Drop. Your. Weapon." Lydia felt Ocelot brush his arm against her left. "She is one of us now. If I can't trust you with this information, then you are not an Ocelot."

"But sir."

"Are those the only words in your vocabulary, or do you have 'yes' hidden in that brain of yours?" _Damn, that's why they call him the Major I suppose._

"Yessir…" Marco placed the pistol back into the holster.

"Carlsbad, let's go." He placed his right hand on the small of her back and lightly pushed her forward. Taking the hint, she walked forward and past Marco, into the office. A scoff from Marco echoed in her ears as Ocelot closed the door behind them and latched the lock. "Impressive _plan_ you had there _Lydia_." Lydia spun around and sat on the top of his desk - making his eye twitch in reaction. "I've saved your life one too many times, girl. Make me do it again and you're on your own."

"Got 'cha." Lydia nodded. "As I was saying earlier, I can't stay in this room forever. How about you train me? We're both probably of the same intellectual level." Ocelot made a noise that she never heard before…a grunt of annoyance?

"We are _not_ on the same level. I'm superior to you in every way, _woman_."

Lydia stood up from the mahogany desk and looked at him in the eye. "Then why don't you prove it?" She crossed her arms. "Come at me." She placed her weight on her right leg, making her right hip pop with attitude.

"What does that mean? You want _me_ to fight _you?_ " Ocelot scoffed. "Child's play."

"If I'm a child, teach me my lesson."

"Tch, you sure do have the nerves of a child." Lydia held out her right hand a waved her fingers for him to come at her. "There will be a day when I have to fight you, but today is not that day."

"That was melodramatic." Lydia sighed and rested her arms at her sides. "So what's the plan?" She moved her eyes to follow his motions around the room. His rattling of his spurs were starting to get annoying - despite all the time she's spent with him waltzing around the room.

"Seems like _you're_ the one making all the plans here, so why don't _you_ tell _me_?" He spread out his arms.

"No need to be so agitated, _Major_."

Ocelot just raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. " _Agitated_ is the last word I would use."


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own the MG/MGS franchise!**

 **Author's note: Thank you to everyone who subscribed to my story and/or just stopped by to take a peek! Because I'm in such a good mood, I have decided to release another chapter for you! :) If you didn't see my updated A/N the last chapter, I have an update! I am finally able to see your reviews again and catch up on them! So yay! I can respond now! :D Thank you for being super speedy with fixing this concern!**

 **MATURE CONTENT WARNING: Violence, Language, Sexual Content.**

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 **Guest K: CH7 review: Yep! PW arc is gonna be bombdiggity. For sure! Despite how Lydia may come off, she's still really venerable especially since she's still young (18) and been through hell, which will definitley influence her decisions later in this arc. CH8 review: Lydia is way too anxious to be all alone in a room with no one to talk to. If I were in her position, I, too, would probably go insane. Hence why she was insane enough to risk EVERYTHING. Silly girl. I'm so grateful you're a fan! You've been following and reviewing since chapter 1! :D Thank yooooooou! *bows***

 **Just praising: Ha, you're guest name cracks me up! Thank you, thank you! It took me a while to plan her character. I was fighting between a male main too, but she just came out on top as the better choice. Thank you for the praise, I want to stay as true to the characters as much as possible and you warmed my heart! As for the "humiliation" scene, ha! He's all "you dare do something without telling me first?! I've been WAITING for this!"**

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 **"Maybe this won't last very long,**

 **But you feel so right,**

 **And I could be wrong...**

 **Who knows how much farther we'll go on?**

 **Maybe I'll be sorry when you're gone.**

 **I'll take my chances...**

 **I haven't been there for the longest time."**

 **-Billy Joel**

* * *

Over the next few weeks, Lydia and Ocelot would train together. Lydia had convinced him that training was a splendid idea…as well as getting out in the open every now and then. There were valuable things each one of them learned from one another. In terms of CQC, Ocelot couldn't quite wrap his head around it and had a lot of trouble defending himself. When he attempted to teach her his pistol nonsense she refused to learn it and told him "I will laugh the day that bullet gets stuck in the chamber. When that happens, think of me." Despite her warning, he was too determined to not change his _special_ technique.

They would go on scouts together with the rest of the Ocelot group to try and find the "mysterious American girl." While the troops went in one direction, Ocelot and Lydia would travel to the site of the plane crash to see if she could collect any surviving documents of her identity - but with the weather and the jungle terrain, that was highly unlikely.

It was a new day. Lydia and Ocelot had found their way to the site of the crash for another search session. Rummaging through some scrapped metal from the plane Ocelot broke the long silence. "Why are you so eager to hold onto your past? You've been here for _how_ long now?"

"Almost three months." Lydia interrupted. "Ocelot." She stood up and faced him, narrowing her eyes through the eyeholes of the balaclava. "I'm glad I can trust you."

"I wouldn't say that just yet." He chuckled and leaned against a large tree.

"Seriously?" She let out a laugh. "In all my life, I've never had anyone treat me like you do - not even my mentor…" She looked at the grass below, starting to grow back from the plane's fire.

"Hey." Ocelot spoke roughly, grabbing her attention. "It's either you stop dwelling on the past or I'm gonna have to put a nice shiny bullet in that brain of yours."

"Now if only I had a brain, you're shit out of luck there Ocelot."

"You're the one that said it." Lydia's eye twitched and wrapped her fingers around a small pebble sitting in the grass. She tossed it at Ocelot and hit him in the right shoulder. "Oooo I'm so scared of a _rock_." He sighed at its impact. "It's hard to believe I haven't killed you yet. You're a nuisance."

"Oh please, I may be the thorn in your side but in all reality you're the blade to my neck."

"You better believe it."

Lydia turned back towards the large, damaged plane and sighed. "You know, I think we've just about tore this thing apart. You're right, if anything was left in one piece nature would've taken it by now… _especially_ after three months." She shrugged and turned to face Ocelot, whom was now closing his eyes. _Is he napping? Really?_ She silently laughed to herself and quietly waltzed up to him. Gazing at his masculine features, as much as she didn't want to, Lydia couldn't help but blush under her mask.

Out of nowhere, his right eyelid opened up. "Stop staring, you're making me nervous."

"Am I?" She replied snidely, leaning in towards his face… _attempting_ at intimidation.

"Watch out, you're sending messages I'm not sure you want to send." Lydia blushed more in reaction. These past few months, Ocelot grew on Lydia more and more. Day in and day out they spent time together, getting to know each other's personalities. What kind of _messages_ is he talking about? As oblivious as she thought she was, she didn't want to accept the fact that he possibly meant it…romantically.

"Well." Lydia sighed and backed away from him. "I still haven't left the post office." She turned so her back was facing Ocelot. _The post office? Really? God you're so LAME._

"The post office? Really?" He let out his famous chuckle.

"Took the words right out of my noggin, didn't you?"

* * *

 **Ocelot's POV**

Day after day Lydia wanted to go back to the site of the crash to see if she can dig up any old belongings…trying to tie her back to America somehow. It was starting to get aggravating. The more time he spent with her though, his initial goal to experiment with emotional torture diminished with every single day. He started to feel a bond with her, the bond of a true comrade. She was dependable, intelligent, and almost on his level. _Almost._ On the contrary, his nerves would coil every time she turned her back to him. When the time comes… would she really?

From wanting to psychologically bound and wound this…woman…to him not standing the sight of her eyes _not_ on him. In a matter of months his feelings made a complete one-eighty turn…was _she_ the one playing _him_ now? How did his goal get so twisted? Lydia would sometimes make subtle intimate maneuvers probably to get a reaction…just like the stunt he witnessed a few moments ago. It was only a matter of time until the Major would call to let him know she was being taken back to America. His time with her was almost up it seemed…Maybe it was time. Maybe it was time to give her just the thing she wanted.

"Adam." He shifted his weight off the tree and walked toward the woman, who slightly turned her head at his words. His name slipped out of his mouth like he was introducing himself for the first time - and it felt good.

"What was that?" She turned her body around to face him. He starred into her emerald green eyes. Her _eyes_ , despite how natural they were, seared into his memory like a brand.

"Adam." He held out his right hand for her to shake.

"Adam, huh?" She extended her right arm and wrapped her gloved hand around his. "Nice to meet you, friend." The corner of his mouth twitched at the final word, but he appreciated the returned gesture. He saw her eyes close with a smile blossoming through her mask. With every moment her lids were closed, he longed to see her emerald eyes more and more.

Suddenly, an intense buzzing noise filled his mind as he quickly shifted his head from looking at her. The buzzing only got louder and more annoying - a large hornet flew into view when the noise ceased. He stared at the insect flying around and eventually away from the two of them. Ocelot grabbed a hold of his gun, flipping it out of the holster. He shot the hornet out of the sky with ease. His gaze returned to Lydia's eyes; she was full of confusion…he could tell.

"We should go." He insisted. "There's no time to explain." The Pain…they weren't safe there, especially Lydia. If The Pain was ordered to scout them out, see what they were doing, they were done for. "Hurry." Latching onto her right hand, he dragged her out into the thick jungle and away from the wreckage.

* * *

 **Lydia's POV**

"Ocelot, what's going on?"

"I'll explain later. It's not safe here anymore." Picking up her speed he released her hand and stayed a few paces ahead of her. Her mind was racing! Why did he pull out his gun and shoot at, NOTHING?! Was he finally going bonkers?! "At our pace now, it'll take us about an hour to reach the base. Can you keep up?"

"Yessir."

"It'll be dark by then." The sky around them was emitting an orange hue.

"Got it." She responded. The scenery blurred by them, faster and faster the more they jogged. Keeping a watchful eye on her surroundings, Lydia's vision caught a tall man cloaked in a khaki uniform. _Shit._ Lydia grabbed Ocelot's arm, jerking him back to halt his pace.

"Wha-!" Her left hand instantly flew to his mouth, covering it without resistance. She looked him in the eyes and used her right index finger to point at the KGB operative.

Removing her hand she whispered. "What is the KGB doing here?"

"That is an _excellent_ question." He looked at his surroundings, "We're close to Rassvet…" He trailed off as a classic look of annoyance spread across his face. Lydia looked back to observe the KGB soldier, only to see him motioning a cue to another person following behind him… _Sokolov_. His receding hairline was hard to miss. The scientist was holding a big folder full of papers; looking timid as ever. The pair walked further into the jungle, close to the bridge that would take them to the cluster of abandoned brick buildings.

"Stay here." She ordered Ocelot.

"I'm your Major. You can't tell me what to do, _woman_." Sexist, much?

"Do you want to know what's happening here, or not?" She pulled out her knife from the holster behind her back, gripping it in her left hand. Staying at a crouch, she made her way closer to the tail end of the group, leaving Ocelot behind. She stood straight and hid herself behind a thick tree for cover, waiting for the last soldier to pass her up. Kneeling down, she grabbed a small rock off the jungle floor. Once the soldier got at a reasonable distance, she chucked the rock at another tree, making him turn around in confusion.

The man shouted something in Russian, waving at the group in front of him; all the while readying his assault rifle. Once he was close enough to the distraction point, Lydia released herself from the tree's cover and approached the stranger. Once behind the guard, who was very confused and looking around, she grinned under her mask.

"Stay right there."

The soldier shouted something surprising in Russian. He dropped his weapon and held up both of his arms in surrender. The sound of Ocelot's footsteps grew closer as he approached them from behind.

"What's going on here?" She inquired, poking the knife to his back.

"W-w-w-we're lea-leading our t-t-t-target to s-s-s-safety!" He gulped, his English was terrible. "We were paid off! He's escaping tomorrow!"

"Where are you taking him?" The sound of Ocelot's spurs grew closer, making the man want to look behind him. "Hey! Eyes forward!" She violently ordered, poking the knife into his back a little harder. The man whipped his head back to it's original spot. She got a good whiff of urine as the man's legs started to tremble. "Answer me!"

"R-r-r-r-r-rassvet!" _Just as Ocelot thought._ Ocelot stood next to Lydia and spoke a phrase in Russian. Acting more nervous than before, the man responded in the unfamiliar language.

"He doesn't know who payed him off." He glared at the back of the man's head. "Do it." He glanced at Lydia's knife, wanting her to kill him.

"Is that really necessary?" The man started pleading, probably begging for his life.

"Yes." Ocelot sounded agitated. "If you don't want to be turned into Volgen, you better kill him now." Lydia's right eye twitched in anger. She shakily inhaled, grabbing the man's shoulder, pulling him back toward her. Swiftly placing the blade to his neck, she slit his throat with ease - watching him collapse to the ground. She turned away from the body and rubbed the knife on her pant leg, cleaning it from blood then sheathing it away.

"Let's go." Ocelot commanded. The sun was just about set over the tall trees above them. Ocelot walked in front of her, toward the bridge to lead them back to Groznyj Grad. She followed a few paces behind him. _They were paid off?_ She tried to get the murder off of her mind. _Could Major Oh really have taken my message to heart?_ She inwardly smiled at the thought of leaving Russia. Leaving behind this whole mess and Ocelot…no…Adam. She could tell she was getting under his skin.

She had gained Ocelot's trust, but now with a possible escape in the future she couldn't help but smile. _I am so turning in my two-week's notice once I get home. The Major can suck a cock._ It was only a matter of time. She stared at the back of Ocelot's head and frowned. _I think it's at the point where I'm depending on him more._ _I think I was convincing enough to get him on my side. Honestly, he made blending in too easy for me. He let me in so willingly…_ Did she really want to know why? Did she want to hear his reason? If she did, would she want to stay?

He wore the egocentric tough-guy act very well because he was spoiled with his position. On the contrary, over the past three months, she found him letting down his guard around her more and more. With all of this in mind, she knew that he wasn't stupid. He was a very intelligent individual. Nonetheless, she was growing tired of playing the damsel, the time would come when she would be able to resume her normal routine. If only Jack could see her now, he would shake his head until it fell off. This _was_ a part of espionage, right?

A couple hours passed in silence when they finally approached Groznyj Grad. At the gate, Ocelot stopped and turned around to face Lydia. He had a disappointing look on his face. "What is it?" She questioned.

"Nothing." Ocelot motioned his arm for her to enter the fortress first. Once she was in a grabbing distance, Ocelot took a rough hold of her arm before she could open the door to enter. Her head snapped in his direction, staring into his eyes. "Lydia, I need you to listen to me. Don't talk. I noticed something today that I should've realized a long time ago. I can't hide you forever. I need you to be more careful from here on out. I have to tell some very dangerous people about what happened today with Sokolov. I'm ordering you to stay out of it." Lydia raised her eye in question. It was her only way out of this country! "I know it seems like it's your only way out, but you have to trust me on this. There _will_ be another chance." He let go of her arm. "Do you trust me?"

As much as she wanted to shake her head no, she nodded vertically. As she stepped for the door, a loud gunshot ripped through the air followed by a sharp pain to her left thigh. "No!" Ocelot loudly protested and caught her as she kneeled to the ground.

"God dammit, why does my left leg always cry out for so much attention?" She grunted out, trying to push the pain away with a laugh. She looked up at Ocelot through her mask and saw him examining his surroundings, trying to find the culprit. Lydia tuned in and heard the snapping of a twig followed by the cocking of a gun a few meters behind her. "Behind me, about ten meters."

"Stay here." Ocelot stood up and walked past her toward the sound. A few moments later, Lydia heard two more bangs ripple through the air. She turned her head to see Ocelot emerge from the cover of trees with blood on him. "You wouldn't _believe_ who I found."

Ocelot knelt down and allowed Lydia to wrap an arm around his shoulder. "Ow. You're gonna have to tell me all about it." She laughed aloud as they both stepped through the entrance of the fort. "You still h-have that med-kit?"

"For you? Maybe." There was a taunting undertone in his voice. "I mean, do you want that bullet stuck in there forever?"

" _I mean_ , my leg is already going to look like the topical graph of Russia, so by this point I really don't give a crap."

"Awh, that's just the pain talking." He chuckled as they approached the entrance to the Ocelot facility.

"Major, Carlsbad!" Two guards saluted at the entrance.

"Could you guys be dolls and open those doors for us?" Lydia painfully ordered.

"Yessir!"

"Who said that _you_ could order _my_ men around?" Ocelot frowned.

"I don't need your sass right now, _Major_." Lydia spoke through her teeth. As they walked through the opened doors, blood now dripping off her shoe.

"Men, please clean up this mess." Ocelot ordered. Once they approached the stairs that led to up to his office. "You're too slow to walk up two flights of stairs. Guess you owe me a favor."

"Please, oh wise one. Carry me up the stairs to your chambers."

"Well when you say it like that…" He looked down at her. She couldn't see but she could just tell he had a smug grin on his face.

"Perv." His shift his right arm on her back and placed his left under her knees, carefully sweeping her off of the tile. "Ow." She muttered as her left thigh brushed up against the fabric of his jacket.

"Stop whining." Lydia's eye twitched with aggravation. They were close to Ocelot's office. He lifted his right leg up and kicked open the first door that led into he small hallway. There was surprisingly no guard.

"Hey, where's Marco?" Marco was supposed to have guard duty today…Ocelot was just quiet as he carefully placed Lydia's feet on the tile - making sure she had balance before he reached to the door. "Ohhhhh."

"Like I said, you wouldn't _believe_ who I found." Opening the door wide, he allowed Lydia to limp in. Eyeing one of the plush red chairs in front of his mahogany desk, she hopped to it, and leaned against the back of it for support. Ocelot locked the office door and approached the opposite side of his desk, probably looking for the med kit.

"No surprise really, he hated me from the beginning. I had it coming." She unbuckled the holster and set in on the chair cushion. Unsnapping her belt next and the button to her black pants. "Animosity toward someone will only tear you apart." Lydia carefully slid down her pants to reveal the bullet-hole. "And it's just my luck for the bullet to get stuck in there. It doesn't feel like it hit my bone. At least he was pretty far away and used a crappy gun."

"Just your luck." Ocelot sounded off from behind her.

"Ocelot, can you help me out here?"

"Can you be patient?" His attitude was showing again as he was rustling around through his belongings in his desk. Lydia sighed and took off the mask that was covering her face. Her long hair fell past her shoulders and onto her back.

"I would be patient if I wasn't bleeding out all over your nice tiled floor." Her leg started pulsing from the amount of blood loss.

"Eureka." Ocelot set the box of medical supplies on his desk. As he opened the tin container, Lydia looked over her shoulder to see him grab disinfectant, tweezers, sewing materials, and bandages. She took the red scarf off from around her neck and placed it beside her. _Oh…I could've used that to stop the bleeding a little bit, oh well, wasn't really thinking._ She sighed inwardly. "Have at it." Ocelot said, using the materials closer to her.

"Thanks." Lydia used the chair as a crutch and hopped to the desk, scooting her butt onto it. She hoisted her left leg up on the desk and kept her right stationed to the side of the desk for balance. She looked at Ocelot who was eyeing her bare leg. "Alright Ocelot, I know you haven't seen a girl in her underwear, but you can stop staring."

"I was just admiring your gruesome scar from when you first got here. Reminds me of the good ol' days." He shrugged and turned around.

"You've _got_ to be kidding me."

"By the way, you're probably not going to leave for a few days. I don't need an injured soldier on du-" he was interrupted by the high pitched ring of the phone that echoed through the office. "-uuuty calls." He wrapped up his sentence and walked to the ringing phone. Grabbing the tweezers, Lydia began to lodge the bullet out of her thigh. _I thought I would never have to go through this shit again. At least it's a solid object and not tiny little pieces of metal._ Ocelot was speaking in Russian to someone, probably that devil Volgen. Lydia winced as she felt metal collide with metal.

"Found you." She whispered. Propping the wound open with her fingers, she worked the tweezers around the bullet, slowly pulling it out of her leg. She found herself biting her bottom lip as the pain grew worse the more she pulled it out. Having enough of the discomfort, she yanked the bullet out of her leg, letting it fall to the tile below. "Owwww _fuck_." She violently whispered. She held her right hand on her thigh to try and ease the pain and stop some of the newly gushing blood. "Ok, ok, ok." Reaching her left arm to the disinfectant she wrapped her fingers around the cold bottle. Ocelot hung up the phone and waltzed up to her. "You forgot something."

"I did?"

"Yes, can you get swabs, or gauzes or something. I'm bleeding more than I thought I would."

"Yes _ma'am_." He walked into her eyesight and pulled the tin into view. He opened it and pulled out a large bundle of gauzes. "Here, I'll kill two birds with one stone." He took the bottle of disinfectant from her left hand and opened the cap. He lightly wet the gauze and placed it on her thigh, slowly patting up some of the spilling blood. The burning sensation of the alcohol made her sharply inhale. He held pressure to the wound with a new gauze to put a halt to some of the bleeding. Looking up from the wound, he made eye contact with Lydia. "You ok?" His eyes were filled with concern.

"Yeah, I'll be alright." She winced.

"Good. Hold this and I'll get the needle ready." He reacted quickly when Lydia placed her hand on top of his to keep the pressure. She watched him carefully as he threaded the needle.

"You're probably better at that than me, so you go ahead." The needle was hooked to make it easier to sew the wound up.

"Alright." Once he was ready he motioned for her to take her right hand away. "I'm gonna need you to hold the wound shut so I can get a good thread going."

"Alright, Dr. Ocelot."

"Please don't call me that." He sighed.

"Whatever you say." She prepared herself for the prick. "Don't hurt me too bad."

"For you? I'm not so sure about that." He chuckled and with a steady hand he poked into her skin. Not standing the site of the needle sewing her skin shut she looked away from the wound.

"What was the phone call about? Given how long I've been here you would think I would've picked up a few Russian phrases by now."

"I'm going on a mission. You're probably not going to see me for a while."

"Oh." Her voice sounded off more disappointed that what she wanted.

"What? You going to miss your _best friend_?"

"You know what, yeah I am." She said back. "I'm going to miss you, Adam." He looked up at her face from the wound then looked back down. He tied off the thick thread.

"That wasn't too bad, was it?" He questioned with a shrug.

"Nope, you know your stuff." She grabbed the bandages that were sitting beside her. All of a sudden, he grabbed onto her hand to stop her movement.

"Allow me."

"S-sure." She was confused. What was with the change in attitude all of a sudden? She slightly bent her left knee so he had better space to work with on the desk. His gloves were cold against her skin as he slowly wrapped the soft bandage around her wound. Once done, he sealed the bandage off with a few strips of medical tape.

"Don't get in any more trouble while I'm gone."

"Yessir." She lightly laughed as he backed away.

"Now get off my desk." He motioned. "Your blood is _everywhere_." He disgustingly looked around.

She slid off the desk, dodging the pool of blood from soaking into her bandage. "Well I'll get the desk if you get the floor."

"I should make you get all of it. It's _your_ blood after all." He sighed disapprovingly. "I'll be right back." He unlocked the door and waltzed out, making sure it shut behind him. Lydia stared at the door as it closed. Her attention turned to the trail of blood on the floor. Her eyes creeped along the path when her they rested on the desk. Her right hand floated to the small pool of blood as she placed the pad of her index finger in the warm substance.

She traced her finger along the blood to form an 'A'. His name fell from her lips like it was natural. _A warm sensation pressed against her back. Adam's gloved hand made its way to cover her right, pressing it down on the desk, smearing her's in the warm, crimson liquid. His left arm snaked around her waist and below the hem of the black jacket, touching her bare skin above her cotton underwear. Butterflies were surfacing in her lower abdomen as she felt his face smother in the crevice of her neck. She felt like she was floating. What was this ecstasy she was feeling? Even this close, he was too far away. The man's lips formed around the lobe of her ear, pulling it with their teeth. His hand slowly slid under the elastic line of her panties, trailing further down almost fully between her legs. "Adam…" She softly moaned._

"Lydia?" She blinked in a fast response, snapping out of the dream-like daze. Was she delirious from the blood-loss?! "You were… _calling_ me?" A small chain of laughter escaped from Ocelot's mouth. Lydia wasn't facing him, but her head craned down to realize her hand was resting comfortably inside her underwear. Removing her hand and placing it on the corner of the desk, she felt whatever blood she had left in her body rush back to her head. _What. The. FUCK?!_ She was all too embarrassed to turn around face him. "I mean…it's only _natural_." He said nonchalantly, the sound of his spurs approaching her bubble. He stood beside her by the desk, resting his butt against the side. "You've been living with me for _how_ long? Three months?" He crossed his arms. "I don't blame you, I _am_ pretty dashing."

"Shut up, Ocelot."

"I thought we were on a first name basis. _Especially_ after what I just caught you doing." She frowned.

"I don't know what came over me." _It was the blood loss. I was delirious. It was the blood loss. I was delirious._ Anything that she could tell herself that it wasn't intentional.

" _I_ do." He laughed. Lydia sighed in response and turned her head to look at him, with a goofy grin on his face. She rolled her eyes and stood upright from the desk. "Well," He continued. "Since you're too intoxicated with your feelings right now, I'll clean all this up."

"What does _that_ got to do with _anything_?!" She fought back, snapping her attitude just as strongly as him.

"Because it let me know that I won." He shrugged.

"You didn't win at anything Ocelot."

"Oh you have _no_ idea. And who was the one with her hand down her cun-"

"STOP." She held up her right hand to signal him. "Just stop."

"-nt." Yes, he had the balls to finish. "Ok, I'm done. I guess you really are going to miss me though. But now…" He paused for dramatic effect, inhaling a large amount of air. "…I have a good idea how you're going to fill that void."

"Oh. My. God." Embarrassment bubbled up inside her again. "Can you just let it go?!"

"You have to first." He motioned her to go into the bedroom. She stared at the devilish grin on his face.

"You started it!"

"I _did_." Lydia's heart was beating so fast with rage at this point. And he just _stood_ there. _Laughing_ at her! She turned away from him, the sight of his smug face was almost making her sick with anger. She limped to the door leading into his room and placed her hand on the door handle. She twisted the knob and swung the door open. "Did you want me to _finish?_ "

"No." She snapped. And limped through the doorway, slamming it behind her. A large bellow of laughter filled the room behind her. _What was I DOING?!_ She slapped her right palm on her face and limped toward the couch. Her hands had a mind of her own! Once she sat down on the plush cushion she sighed, glancing at her left leg. _You know, I think I'm probably gonna have a limp for the rest of my life because of all the crap I went through here._ She gently placed her left hand on her thigh. "I gotta get out of here somehow." She whispered. Lydia remembered Ocelot's words, how he said that she shouldn't go. With how bad she wanted to leave, she couldn't risk being caught and tortured again.

At this point, she was comfortable where she was at but she was homesick. But, why did her mind always turn towards Ocelot whenever she thought about leaving? Lydia's emotions were wavering. Back when she first arrived, was he really lonely? Is that why he held onto her and kept her safe for so long? She was using him to stay alive, but Ocelot, no, Adam had become her closest friend and ally. She trusted him and he, her. He wasn't hard to look at, and some friendly flirting is to be expected, but she didn't like him in a _romantic_ way. Did she? It was a mutual friendship and couldn't possibly be anything _more_ than that. She couldn't find herself being even more compromised if she fell _in love_ with the 'enemy'. "I need to get my mind off of this." Elevating her bare leg on the couch she was all-too familiar with she closed her eyes. She would rather focus on the pain in her leg rather than Ocelot at the moment. Sighing, she attempted to doze off but her mind as racing too much for that to happen.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise!**

 **Author's note: Thank you to everyone who subscribed to my story (and/or stopped by to take a peek!) Here is the next chapter! I hope you enjoy :3**

 **Just praising:** Welcome back! I ain't gonna tell you that! That's spoilers, dude! And I adore playing with emotions, matter of fact you are going to LOVE this chapter! I'm glad you're enjoying Lydia! I love her but I honestly can't wait till she grows up a little bit xD Thanks for tuning in and for submitting a review! Enjoy!

 **Guest K** : "It was the blood loss! I was delirious!" SURE LYDIA, SURE. KEEP TELLING YOURSELF THAT lol ;D You're definitely going to see some repercussions from a lot of things that went down in this arc as the story progresses! Ocelot's and Lydia's (Lydalot? lol Ocelyd? idfk) relationship is hella complicated but it'll fall together eventually...hmmmmmm... On that note: Thank you for the praise and submitting another review :3 Enjoy!

 **Mature Content Warning!**

* * *

 **"And when you've taken down your guard,**

 **If I could change your mind**

 **I'd really love to break your heart."**

 **-Tears for Fears**

* * *

Hours had passed and still no sound from Ocelot in the other room. What time was it now? Two, Three, or Four A.M.? Lydia straightened her back and hoisted herself up off the couch, squinting at the clock on the other side of the room. "2:30?" She inhaled a bunch of air, holding it in her cheeks before letting it out slowly in disappointment. _I don't really want to move._ Pain was still throbbing in her leg, but not as bad as before. Tuning in to her surroundings, she couldn't help but suddenly hear Ocelot quietly speaking in French in the other room. _He knows French, too? Jeez, how many languages does this kid know?_

She listened to his voice as it stayed level and calming - void of any emotion. What could he possibly be talking about? The Major, back home, would urge her to take some kind of foreign language. Jack would always want to teach her Russian, but second languages were never her forte. Ocelot ceased from speaking, probably hanging up the phone. She heard the metal door handle turn and the door open slowly.

"Lydia?"

"Yeah?"

"Still awake, huh?"

"You are too, bub."

"I had some work to do. Anyway, I have to talk to you about something." Ocelot strode into view and sat on the couch next to her legs, making sure not to bump into any of them. "You know earlier when I pulled out my gun in the forest?"

"Yeah, I was wondering about that."

"There are some dangerous people here, one of them was probably ordered to track out our movements. You see, this might sound strange to you, but there are more genetically enhanced humans living in the world other than Volgen."

"Yeah, I think I got that." She winced, feeling a twinge of phantom electrical pain cycle through her body in remembrance.

"One of them uses hornets to his advantage. That, my dear, is what I shot at earlier."

"Hornets?"

"Don't ask." He sighed. "The point is, you are not safe. I don't want you doing anything stupid or reckless. It's very important that you _stay alive_." The emphasis on those last two words made her shutter. "I literally cannot afford to lose you. Not now."

"Was that phone call about me?" She automatically assumed.

"I cannot disclose that to you." It's strange how much his demeanor had changed in such a short amount of time. Ocelot was a smaller part to a very large picture. He was probably working on another table. French is the common language other than English used in the United Nations. Could he possibly be an ally to America? "You might have to go through some things in a few days that will hurt you. It might put you in a situation where you don't trust me. You have to promise me right now…"

"Promise what?" Her eyes were searching his.

"Promise that no matter what happens, no matter what I do to you, you will trust me? Your answer right now will depend on what you hear next, so please answer wisely." His eyelids narrowed.

"Of course I trust you, Adam. You are my only ally here."

"Well. Tell me then, one woman takes cyanide, another would let her arm be broken, neither will talk. Who puts that sort of fear into people?" Listening carefully her eyes widened with every word coming out of his mouth. Lydia leaned forward and snatched onto his arm, gripping it tight. Tears welled up in her eyes, an mix of anger and sadness overwhelmed her brain as the quote circled in her brain.

* * *

 _"Yeah, I've seen one. I watched Dr. No in the cinema when it came out! I couldn't help but thinking: 'finally, a really cool spy movie'! It looks like we now have something in common, Major!"_

 _"Indeed we do, now we have something to talk about other than me complaining to you that you don't drink enough tea!"_

 _"Amen. I'm tired of you pestering me." Lydia was sitting in his the Major's office. He had called her there for some reason, but he hadn't really said anything of importance yet._

 _"You have got to see From Russia With Love."_

 _"I think I missed that one, to be honest." She responded. "I've just been so busy…training with Jack and all. He doesn't really leave me with spare time."_

 _"Well, you'll just have to watch it when convenient. 007 is the biggest thing to come out of England since the Mayflower! I wouldn't be surprised if they made twenty more of those movies!"_

 _"Yes, and they all need to have Sean Connery!"_

 _"What a magnificent actor, that one! And not to shabby on the looks too!" Lydia nodded her head in agreement. "Tell me, agent, do you recall any quotes from the film? Any that stood out to you?"_

 _"'Bond. James Bond'."_

 _The Major laughed in return. "Ah yes, yes. The classic introduction at the casino! Any other one?"_

 _"There's really only one other than stands out. It says a lot about fear and how the mind works. 'One takes cyanide, another would let her arm be broken, neither will talk. Who puts that sort of fear into people'?" She didn't know why, but that small bit in the movie spoke to her for some reason. "Fear drives people into madness and eventually controls them. Having experienced some kind of fear will follow someone to the ends of the earth if that person lets it hold the strings."_

 _"What is that fear for you, Agent?"_

 _"Falling in love."_

 _"Being responsible for another human being…interesting."_

 _"Being invested in someone leads an opportunity for them to get hurt. If that happens, not only will they be destroyed but you will be too. If not the same, then worse. I could go through any type of torture, but put someone I love in front of me and threaten their lives? I feel like I would crack if they were caused any amount of pain. That's exactly why it would be easy for me not to talk." Lydia chuckled. "I don't really let anyone get close to me. I have no family to worry about. No one to tie me too. No emergency contact. No soldier to send out and let someone know I died on the field. Nothing. I'll just be forgotten."_

 _"You would put another life before your own?"_

 _"Without a doubt."_

 _"That would just leave them in the hands of the enemy. You would be a significant loss if that were to happen. You're a smart girl, Lydia. I recruited you for a reason."_

 _"I know, sir. I would be smart enough in that situation to think of a way to get them out of the enemy's hands." She paused. "But it's simple. I just can't afford to fall in love."_

 _"You're a woman, Lydia. You need to fall in love at some point. You don't dream of getting married and having a little tyke of your own?"_

 _"What does being a woman with lost dreams have to do with anything? Just as long as I do my job, I will be alright. My title does not include "lover" or "wife". I just wasn't born to do that."_

 _"Alright, alright. Bond won't be after you anytime soon. Although if he could make you swoon, someone could one of these days."_

 _"Please, sir, he's a fictional character."_

 _"I'm not so sure. British Intelligence sure does love to hide a lot of things."_

 _". . .Major please. You're delusional."_

* * *

"Have you been working for _him_ this _entire_ time?!" She furiously spoke through her teeth. She gripped onto his arm tighter, his eye twitched, showing he was going through some type of pain.

"I'm glad you chose to trust me." Ocelot just _wanted_ to roll his eyes.

Lydia inhaled slowly and exhaled, closing her eyes, soaking in the shock as she loosened her grip on his forearm. One of his ungloved hands gently rested on top of her's, stroking it with his thumb. A very calming technique to feel another touch of a human being. "I don't know what to say." She calmly admitted with a shaky exhale.

"Then don't say anything." He let go of her hand, followed by standing up from the couch's cushion. The sound of his boots and spurs echoed in her ears as he walked further away. "Your major had called me a few days before your crash…telling me that a rookie was going to swoop in and assassinate Granin. I guess he took your distress call to heart." Lydia's ming was running a million miles an hour. Why didn't he tell her sooner?! He's a spy?! Every question in the world seemingly zoomed by in her craniu. "Anyway…this is going to be our last night together." He added. Lydia opened her eyes, her gaze looking at Ocelot who was stripping off his jacket. "After today you are going to act as my enemy and an accomplice to your American ally. You are going to assist in the capture of Sokolov. You're going to have to fake out that pain in your leg. It was unfortunate that you got shot."

"Are you just all orders?" She spat. Still recovering from the hidden message.

"I'm pretty good, huh?"

"Pretty good, tch." She sharply inhaled, feeling herself becoming more upset. "You gave me a _home_. You took care of me. You made sure I was safe, and now you're just sending me away. Just like that? Really?"

"You're an objective." Ocelot hung up his jacket and started to unbutton the shirt that was on underneath.

"That conversation I had with the Major. How _dare_ you. You knew. You _knew_ and you _wanted_ me to get attached to you. From the very beginning, huh?"

Ocelot shrugged. "It just _happened_ to work out that way."

"You _knew_ I was afraid of getting attached. Of…of…" She couldn't bring herself to say it. Was she really in _love_ with Ocelot? She didn't know what love felt like, but if it felt like this… "I wish I could hate you right now." Lydia watched Ocelot sit on the edge of his bed and slide off his boots. "I wish I couldn't care. I don't want this."

"Love is dangerous, Lydia."

"I'm not-"

"Yes." He sternly stood up and faced her. "Yes you are." Her heart ached at the realization.

"Is this what you wanted?" She flailed her arms out. "Was I your little _experiment_?"

"It's true. I had plans to torture you." He unbuttoned the cuffs on his sleeves. "I've had plans to break you in two, all because I knew your weakness from the start. I read you like a book the moment I saw you. I wanted to see if it was _possible_ for you to love, even if I was your enemy." He took of his shirt, hanging it up next to his jacket. "And now look at you." He snickered. "I've broken your heart and spirit, and am leaving you hopeless as my enemy. I need you to hate me, Lydia. It needs to be easier for you to leave." Lydia stood up from the couch, limping over to him, her right hand clenched into a tight fist. "Forget about everything else." He wasn't even looking at her.

 _"Look_ at me, Adam." She spoke up, standing in front of him. He slid off his second boot then looked up at her. His cold, blue eyes were glossed over, almost sad. "I can't hate you." She sighed in defeat. "But you can't say that you didn't love me either." He was silent. A few moments passed before he spoke.

"I have to admit it. We were both playing each other, and we both lost." Ocelot stood up from the bed, standing closer to Lydia. His right arm raised from his side, his hand floating to her left cheek. He stepped closer to her, snaking his left arm around her waist. His face was getting closer; being careful not to break eye contact. "When you leave, there's no need to worry about you being forgotten. I could never forget eyes like yours." Tears welling up in her green orbs again, Lydia felt one stream down her cheek. "I've seen all their emotions. Animosity. Disgust. Hurt. Betrayal. Fear. Shame. Confusion. Courage. Wonderment. Happiness." As he slowly listed the emotions, one by one, he leaned in toward her face.

Lydia couldn't help but let a few more tears go. "Love." He kept his eyes on hers until he pressed his lips to her soft ones. Lydia found herself closing her eyes as well, accepting the surreal moment. The taste and feel of his slightly-chapped lips against hers was something she'd never experienced. He led himself deeper into the kiss, moving his lips more passionately. She couldn't help but kiss him back with equal measure. He held her closer to his body, rubbing the small of her back with his left hand. With her brain's attention moving toward her lower body, she suddenly remembered that she never put any pants on from earlier. Realizing this, her left leg started getting achy; making her shift her weight to her right. Ocelot recognized her movement and broke the exchange. Both breathing heavily, he slid his hand down her backside to cradle her legs, gently lifting her off the ground; making sure to move his right arm around her back for support. He turned around and placed her on his bed. He stared at her, making her blush with embarrassment. "There's another." He smiled softly. "That's my favorite."

"Jesus." Lydia snatched the free pillow and threw it over her face.

"No need for formalities." Was there no end to his come-backs?! She slid the pillow down to reveal her eyes, he was staring at her with his icy ones.

"What now?"

"What do you mean 'what now'?" He laughed. "You're going to sleep with me. That's what's going to happen."

"Wait…WHAT?!" Lydia threw the pillow at him and it bounced off his head and dropped back to the bed.

"Change in feelings so soon?" He grinned. "I didn't mean it like _that_." He emphasized, which made her blush more. "If I'm going to have one last night with you…" he paused. "I'm going to be in that bed." He pointed at the spot next to her. "With you." Lydia blushed and rolled her eyes. "You've slept on the couch all this time…minus one or two nights. Don't tell me that you don't want to."

"Way to turn my words around on me." Lydia light-heartedly laughed. "I would like that."

"I mean it's not like you had a choice, it's my bed anyway." He shrugged, taking off his jacket - a sight she got used to the past few months.

"Oh come on, Adam." Lydia rolled her eyes and stared at Ocelot as he walked to the other side of the bed, taking off his shirt and the other parts of his uniform.

"You should get comfortable." He grinned.

"Nah, I'm plenty comfortable. This jacket is pretty warm." She smiled, bringing the sheets closer to her neck.

"Alright, suit yourself." He sat on the edge of the bed and took off his boots, gently placing them on the floor.

* * *

 **Ocelot's POV**

Once Lydia was sound asleep, he still lied awake. What had come over him? Even now, he had held onto her in her slumber and didn't want to let go. They both gave into their emotions for each other so…willingly. He removed his left arm from around her waist and moved himself from her, propping himself up on his right elbow, he studied her sleeping features, making sure to sponge in the way she looked. She slept with her mouth partly open making a small snore every now and then. Her blond hair was tangled and laid to her side…he would never admit it but he loved her.

He _loved_ her. The way they acted together…it was a grain away from having the perfect partner. He _loved_ her. The word rushed through his brain, staining every inch of it until he was overwhelmed with the word - the feeling. "I just turned twenty, you know?" He spoke softly. "You're something else." He smiled. "I thought I didn't have time for women like you, but here you are. You…of _all_ the people in this world." With his connection to the CIA, he would always have some way of knowing she was alright if she were to make it back to America alive. He knew that she would fall in love again. Start a family…nah she wasn't that type. But eventually, she _would_ find someone else. Straightening out his arm he sat up and turned to the edge of the bed, looking away from the woman next to him. Separating himself would be the most difficult task he had done in a while…probably the same for her.

Hours had passed with him sitting in the same position. While glancing at the clock it struck 5 A.M.. It was back to being Ocelot. He stood up and approached his clothes. Slowly putting them on, he couldn't help but glance back at the girl he left alone in the bed. "Wake up." He said softly at first. She didn't stir or do anything…was she difficult or what? "Wake up." He demanded a little louder. This time she lolled her head to the left…still nothing. "Oh my god, woman." He found himself rolling his eyes and putting on the rest of his uniform. He walked to the bed, the sound of his spurs must have done it. Her beautiful emerald eyes fluttered open and looked around, searching for him.

"Adam?"

"I'm over here." He sighed with defeat. He slowly marched to her side of the bed and placed his right arm over her coming into her view. "Wake up." He leaned down to give her one last kiss. He closed his eyes and moved them slowly against her's, savoring the sweet taste. She kissed him back with ease, her soft hand soon rested on his left cheek - making him wince with a pain in his heart. He wouldn't forget that kiss for as long as he lived. Love, sorrow, pain, all those emotions wrapped into one welled up inside the both of them - they both knew this was the end.

* * *

 **Lydia's POV**

As Adam parted from her, she felt a void form in her stomach. That was it. That was the end of it… She saw the sorrow in his blue eyes. "Come on, we don't want to be late to the party." He removed himself from his hovering position and stood up straight, walking to the door leading into his office. "I'll be in here when you're ready." He opened the door and closed it once he stepped into the next room. Lydia propped herself up and carefully swung her legs over the side of the bed, still feeling pain in her left leg. Placing the weight on her right, she hoisted up her body. She limped around the room finding random uniform parts and putting them on once she came across them.

Limping to the door, she opened it up. Her eyes focused on Adam who was on the phone, talking in Russian to the person on the other line. At the sound of her presence he turned around to acknowledge her, finishing up his conversation. He placed to phone back on the hook and turned to face her again.

"This is goodbye, isn't it?" She shrugged, holding her mask in her hands. All he could do was nod. Lydia sighed and brought the mask to her face, sliding it on. "Goodbye, Adam." She extended her right arm, holding out her hand for him to shake. He extended his and softly grabbed it. He brought her gloved hand to his lips, giving it one last kiss before departure.

"Let's get going." He stated. He let go of her hand and proceeded to walk to the door. She limped after him, trying her best to hide her injury. "Once we're there, you will know when to make your move. You're going to stick with the American they're sending over, that's the order I received. My advice? Don't show yourself until you are alone with him - otherwise you're good as dead."

"Got it." She nodded. Once outside, they met with a large group of Ocelot soldiers eagerly waiting instructions.

"Ocelots!" He expanded his arms. "Our dear friend Sokolov is on his way to be smuggled out of this dear country. It's our job to put a stop to that. We will go to the abandoned factory at Rassvet. Once there we will find him and bring him back." They all resonated with a salute of their right hands. "Move out!" Not a moment later the posse turned and began their journey to Rassvet. Lydia began her walk behind the group, staying in front of Ocelot.

With no one watching except the one man behind her, she decided to walk with the majority of her weight on her right leg to save herself when she had to try and walk slightly normal. After few minutes of travel, Ocelot caught up to her, walking to her right side. "What I would give to carry you right now."

"I don't know what you're talking about." She responded, keeping her eyes forward. If she looked at him she would certainly crack.

"Remember what I said. No matter what, I need you to trust me."

"I remember." Lydia kept her eyes forward to the group.

"You know…I know some of your pain isn't from your leg." He snickered, probably remembering when he caught her in the act of masturbating.

"Major, stop it." She said, wanting to slap him across the face. She could only narrow her eyes in annoyance. He was purposefully making this harder for her to go through. Her emotions started to swell inside her heart. "You're making this hard for me."

"I have to walk beside you, I can't stand having your back turned to me."

"Be my guest." She released a sigh of defeat.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS franchise!**

 **Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who subscribed and/or stopped by to take a look at the story! I'm really glad you're enjoying it so far! Here is the next chapter; I hope you enjoy :3**

 **Guest K:** Thank you for another review! I agree on "Lydalot", makes sense if you pronounce it "LIED A LOT"! xD It's about time for MGS3! :D

 **CaptainMc:** Thanks for the review! I'm glad you're enjoying it so far! :3 You don't need to wait any longer!

* * *

 **"They burned down the gambling house,**

 **It died with an awful sound...**

 **Smoke on the water,**

 **Fire in the sky."**

 **-Deep Purple**

* * *

For the next hour or two, they didn't speak. Lydia enjoyed the peace of Ocelot walking at her side. Sometimes he would brush his hand against her's to get some kind of reaction. He knew how to push her buttons and she didn't like it…not one bit. As they approached the abandoned factory, all soldiers took their places, hiding beyond the trees. Once in view of the area, Lydia scoped ahead, looking to see if she could pinpoint Sokolov's location.

"Freeze!" A sound echoed across the area. One of the KGB soldiers held someone up at gunpoint. Who that person was, was the one trying to get Sokolov to safety - but her sight was obstructed by a brick wall. Once the man was surrounded, Ocelot walked out of the cover of the woods and approached the site. Lydia examined his movements as the rest of the unit followed him out. She lightly limped behind them, taking cover behind a wall, keeping Ocelot in view.

Ocelot let out a chuckle. "So…this is the _legendary_ boss." He took his right pistol out of his holster and walked further toward Sokolov's position, twirling it around his fingers…show off. Lydia peeked her head out from beyond the wall to see who this 'boss' was…narrowing her eyes she couldn't help but feel a sense of recognition as her eyes landed on the man guarding the target. _Wait… Jack?!_ Her eyes widened at the sight of him. He was almost unrecognizable, it's been three whole months since the last time she laid her eyes on him. If Ocelot was in contact with the Major, he could've told him about Jack too. "We meet at last." He continues on with his speech.

"You…you're from the Ocelot unit of Spetsnaz!" One of the soldier's holding up Jack turned his attention to Ocelot. "What's a GRU _soldier_ doing _here_?" It seems like they didn't know the Volgen's intentions…wait…did he just call him a _soldier_? Ocelot stopped spinning his gun and narrowed his eyes at the KGB operative.

" _Soldier?_ " He repeated. One of the things that Ocelot hated the most was his ego/title being defamed. He reached his hands to his beret and straightened it. That's probably when one of the soldiers got the hint.

"He's the Ocelot _commander_!" The guy sounded surprised.

Ocelot scoffed. "That's _Major_ Ocelot to you." He spread out his arms. "And don't you forget it."

"Sokolov is ours…now get out of here." Ordered the same guy from before. Man, these soldiers were asking for it. Lydia rolled her eyes as she could feel Ocelot's ego radiating from his body. She made eye contact with one of the other Ocelot soldiers, who was enjoying the scene way too much.

"An ocelot never lets his prey escape." There it was, he did his classic signature hand move. Why that? Of all moves, why did he stick with that one? Lydia couldn't help but sigh as she held her rifle to her chest. _I wonder what Jack is thinking right now. Adam, you're such an idiot…not impressing anyone here._

"He's too cool." The soldier adjacent to Lydia whispered.

"Yeah, he sure is." She jokingly agreed. _Well…_ except _for them…_ she smiled through her mask.

"What?!" The KGB soldier shouted. Taking his gun in his right hand again, restarted to shoot down every one of the KGB soldiers. Blood sprayed from their bodies as each one lifelessly toppled to the ground. He shot them with such ease and finesse. He took the hot barrel to his lips and blew away some smoke. She looked at another soldier stationed close to her who was balling up his fists in excitement. Lydia sighed quietly, almost laughing at his reaction to Ocelot's "coolness". He placed the gun back in his holster.

Further in the distance, Lydia noticed another man readying his rifle to shoot at him. _Let's see if he remembers anything I taught him_. He spun his gun out of his hotter again…he could've saved some time if he left it out. But, nonetheless, he pointed it to the soldier, ricocheting the bullet off of some metal bars, hitting the hiding soldier and killing him. He spun the gun around again in satisfaction and placed it back in it's home. Her attention turned to Jack, who was kneeling at the ready in his classic pre-CQC stance. His knife was held to the base of his pistol, his eyes intently fixed on the threat in front of him.

One of the wounded KGB soldier that was lying in front of Ocelot moved slightly, gasping for air. This man truly had no mercy. He took one more life. "I can't say it feels good to kill a comrade, even if it is for the GRU." He fixed his beret and made eye contact with Lydia. Breaking his eye contact, he looked back at Jack who quietly ordered Sokolov to take cover behind something.

Ocelot spread out his arms in a welcoming motion. Jack took this invitation and stood up, himself - still at the ready. _This battle isn't going to go very well for you, Adam._ Making a weird motion, she heard him growl…she couldn't help but find herself blushing and feeling giddy at the noise. "You're not The Boss, are you?" _Wait, The Boss? He knows about her too?!_ Jack didn't say anything, just stared. Nothing could break that man, no matter how hard Ocelot could try. Turning around, Ocelot embarrassingly meowed, calling out to the Unit to take their positions. Emerging from the cover, they found themselves surrounding Jack.

Lydia was the farthest away, not wanting to approach her mentor. The Unit pointed their lethal weapons at him, making Sokolov very frightened and give away his position. Lydia turned her attention to Ocelot who was now circling Jack. A look of realization spread across his face. "What is that stance?" Ocelot scoffed. "That gun?" He was getting too cocky. _Stop it Adam, you're going to regret this._ He couldn't help but laugh. The other soldiers followed along, letting heir guard down. Lydia narrowed her eyes in annoyance as she glared daggers at Adam. He made eye contact with her and stopped his mocking laughter.

Another grin formed on his face as he took out his pistol one more time, throwing it up in the air. "If you're not The Boss, then die!" He swiftly pointed the pistol to Jack, throwing back his elbow and pulling the trigger simultaneously. No gunfire. The bullet jammed! _I TOLD YOU!_ She almost laughed out loud as Jack took this moment to his advantage. With his right hand, Jack grabbed ahold of Ocelot's right wrist then swiftly wrapped his left arm over Ocelot's shoulder in a classic disarming technique. His blade rested against his neck for a moment before Ocelot was guided harshly to the ground. He let out a grunt as Jack disarmed him by tearing the pistol away from his hand. This display of amazing act made Sokolov scream and run away! The man positioned across from Lydia noticed this and shouted after Ocelot.

Acting on a whim, Ocelot shouted, "Leave him! Shoot the other one!" _Hahaa, there's no way I'm shooting him. No thank you._ One of the guys lunged forward making Jack step over Ocelot to continue his non-lethal assault on the Unit. He tranked the soldier positioned to her right. Snapping out of watching Jack's amazing display, she took cover behind a wall, turning her head to the direction Sokolov ran off to. All of them were silenced with ease followed by Ocelot letting out a few more grunts. She peeked back over the wall to see Jack pointing his gun to the hurting Ocelot.

"You ejected the first bullet by hand, didn't you?" _Here comes the lecture. Classic Jack, glad to see you haven't changed._ "I see what you were trying to do. But testing a technique you've only heard about in the middle of battle wasn't very smart. You were asking to have your gun jam on you." Ocelot jolted his torso up, probably remembering what Lydia had told him a few months back. _That's it Ocelot, you're getting it_. "Besides, I don't think you're cut out for an automatic in the first place." Jack brought his gun down to a resting position, realizing that Ocelot wasn't a threat anymore. "You tend to twist your elbow to absorb the recoil. That's more of a _revolver_ technique."

Rage filled up in Ocelot's eyes as he gritted his teeth. "You filthy American dog!" He then proceeded to pull out his knife with his right hand, hoisting himself up from the jungle floor. Ocelot charged for Jack sloppily, allowing him to easily get disarmed then punched in the stomach. Serves his right for his bad form. He was hit in the back of the neck, almost making him black out. But Jack wasn't going to let that happen, he wasn't done with his lecture yet.

He pulled Ocelot back and slammed him to the ground again. This time, holding his own blade to his neck. "But that was some fancy shooting…you're pretty good." _There he is_. Lydia smiled from beneath her mask. Ocelot took a hold of Jack's arm with his left and made the signature gesture with his right…repeating the words…probably realizing who he really was. Not a moment later, he was passed out. Jack sheathed his knife and knelt down next to Ocelot's body, placing two fingers to his ear to activate the codec as he turned it on. "Major, do you read me?"

 _Major. You devil._ There was a pause for him to respond. As she listened in to Jack's report, she wanted to reveal herself…but now wasn't the time. "I don't like it. Something about the whole thing stinks." _Yes, yes it does Jack, but it's a good thing they sent you. There are some very dangerous people here. You better hurry and get to Sokolov._ "Sokolov ran off by himself, but I'll catch up to him." He hung up the codec and stood up. He walked away from the knocked out bodies and proceeded in the direction of Sokolov and further into the dense forest. She looked at the unconscious Ocelot and shook her head.

Lydia followed carefully behind Jack to toward Dolinovodno. Once she approached the bridge, she saw Jack conversing with the timid Sokolov. They were speaking in Russian, probably filling each other in on what had just happened. In the distance there was a terrifying bellow of a large, moving object. Lydia witnessed the emerging of the weapon Sokolov and Granin were working on. Was it really done already?! There was no way! He couldn't have been working on it that long. If only she knew Russian, she could get the hint.

Sokolov began to get more flustered and emotional as he waved his arms around. He placed his hands on Jack's arms and was begging him…probably to take him to safety…back to America. Was this her chance? He motioned Sokolov to follow him across the bridge. When they reached the half-way mark a woman appeared through he mist, holding two large cases.

She wore a black bandana that pushed back her shoulder-length blond hair. Surprisingly, Jack spoke in English. "Boss?" _THE Boss? That's her?!_ Lydia's eyes widened at the display. She was as beautiful as she was deadly. For some reason, the woman's eyes were filled with no emotion. She suddenly dropped a case, making the bridge violently sway to the right, almost causing Sokolov to topple over the edge. Then she dropped the left. What could possibly be in those cases? Why would The Boss be _here?_ Sokolov fell on his backside; Jack didn't let down his guard.

"Good work, Jack." She spoke in English.

"What are you doing here?"

"Sokolov comes with me." The Boss ordered, her eyes narrowed, sending him a warning glare. A buzzing noise filled the air that made Lydia look to the sky. A massive black cloud floated above them, then soon engulfed Jack and Sokolov! It was a giant hive of hornets! _That must be the powers of the one Ocelot was telling me about!_ Lydia heard Sokolov's scream echo through the air as he was soon gone from the bridge. A helicopter flew into view and the hornets retracted from the area and to the helicopter. How did they not hear the aircraft? As loud as they were, they should've heard it minutes ago! Sokolov must've been lifted to the interior somehow.

Lydia focused her attention on the dangerous-looking man that was peering out onto the bridge. _These must be the guys Ocelot was talking about._ "My friends," The Boss began after the display. "let us fight together again!" The two men in the helicopter spoke in Russian as they made gesture to acknowledge her presence. "Now that the five of us are all together, it's time we of to the depths of hell itself…" Out of nowhere, rain began to fall. The cold water seeped through her black uniform as the sky went dark. The Boss spread out her arms and looked to the sky, examining the rain in wonderment. "It's raining blood…is he crying?" _What is she talking about?_ The Boss swiftly looked around her as if she saw a ghost, but then returned her attention back to Jack. Approaching form the distance, Lydia saw Volgen come into view. Lightning was sparking off of his body, the rain only making it more threatening. She shivered as she remembered the burning sensation of the electricity on her skin.

"Kuwabara, Kuwabara." He chanted, the Japanese words danced through her brain with familiarity. The moment he was a few paces behind The Boss the rain stopped and they sky was cleared of any darkness. What he said next was in Russian. There was something more happening here…supernatural beings was one thing but there was something grave happening behind the scenes.

The Boss waltzed toward Jack as they continued their conversation in English. "Boss? What is this?"

"I'm defecting to the Soviet Union. Sokolov is a little gift for my new hosts." Volgen continued to speak in Russian as he held up one of the cases with ease.

"This can't be happening!" Jack exclaimed, throwing his arms to his side. Volgen and The Boss continued in Russian, which made Lydia look around. _This isn't going to go well for Jack, I've got to think ahead here._ She looked to the right and silently made her way to the edge of the cliff, examining the direction of the current. _All I've got to do is climb down and wait for Jack…but with my leg that'll make it almost impossible._ She shook her head. _There's got to be an easier way down if I follow the current._ She looked back to the bridge. _I don't have a lot of time._

Quietly, Lydia limped farther away from the bridge, expecting Jack to either dive off or be thrown off pretty soon. With how close him and The Boss were, there was no way she would kill him. Once farther away, she picked up the pace and began to hold a light jog, still holding the majority of her weight on her right leg. About half an hour passed, her pace was decreasing and the sun was starting to set over the horizon.

In the distance, Lydia saw a bank where she could slide down. Hopefully she could make it to Jack before he could drown; that is, if he hadn't done so already. Approaching the damp soil, she slowly descended down toward the river. The water was shallow; across from her was an unconscious Jack! That tough bastard! The current carried him right to her! The familiar ring of the codec pierced through the air. Jack's body twitched as he turned flat on his back, letting out an unpleasant grunt. He weakly reached to the codec control, flipping it on. "Yeah, just barely…" His voice was quiet, almost a whisper. He was in a lot of pain. He painfully grunted as he turned his back around again, lifting himself on all four limbs. Lydia limped to him, rushing to his aid. His breathing became heavy as he sounded out "Major…the boss…she defected." He started to crawl to a nearby tree to lean his back against to probably patch himself up.

"Jack!" Lydia called out, quickly limping her way through the shallow river. He weakly craned his head. "Hey! I'm here!" She approached him, kneeling down beside his injured body. "I got you."

Jack lolled his head to the side, trying to stay conscious. "W-who are you?" He sounded out.

"Don't talk." She reached for his supply belt and took out first aid supplies. She quickly stripped him of his gear, examining his wounds. He had a few deep cuts on both arms and his abdomen that needed stitches. His left arm was is pretty bad shape, probably fractured…not to mention he had a large bruise on his ribs. "This is gonna hurt." She grabbed the disinfectant and applied it directly to all his gashes. He couldn't help but grunt in immense discomfort as the burning sensation traveled through his body. She took some gauzes to stop the bleeding, minutes passed before she could move from wound to wound. "Stay with me, Jack." She then reached to the suture kit. Within minutes, his wounds were sewn up and bandaged to the best of her ability. Jack had regained full consciousness, but he was still weak. Looking around, she spotted a thick piece of bark on the ground. "Here, bite onto this."

He grabbed the bark from her hand and placed it in his mouth, grinding his teeth against it. He leaned against the tree behind him, bracing himself for the pain. She grabbed ahold of his wrist, making eye contact with him. "On the count of three." He nodded. "One," With a swift motion, she jerked his arm back onto place, making him painfully grunt against the bark. From his painful crunched position, he leaned back against the tree, spitting the bark out of his mouth. Lydia looked around and spotted a piece of wood that would make a good splint for the time being. She reached dover and picked it up with her right hand, giving it to Jack. She knew that he didn't like being taken care of, so while he was fully conscious, she let him finish the job. He reached for a black cloth that was lying within arm's reach and used it as a sling. Resting his head back onto the tree, he stared into her eyes.

"Thanks." He weakly said to her. "I have someone here with me." He coughed. "Send another." He was speaking over the codec, he hadn't turned it off. Sighing, he looked at her again. "Who are you?"

"Someone you wouldn't expect." Lydia took off the red beret, throwing it to the ground. She reached both of her hands to the base of her mask and slid it off to reveal her face.

"I-is that really you?" He choked out in realization. "Or am I dead?"

"It's me Jack." She smiled. "It's Lydia."

"Heh, I knew it." He couldn't help but smile as he lolled his head back into the tree. "I knew a kid like you wouldn't give up so easily. Good job." Their reunion was cut short by the sound of multiple helicopters whirring in their direction. Lydia and Jack both turned their attention upstream where they could see the large tank-type weapon being air-lifted. "Shagohod…" Jack muttered.

"Shagohod? That's it's name?" She questioned, looking at Jack then back at the helicopters. As it was carried past them, Jack held out his hand to the captors trying to reach for something…The Boss. After overextending he collapsed to his own weight. _How sad._ Lydia latched onto his shoulder, guiding him up to his feet. Finally reuniting with his mentor after so many years. After so many experiences together then having her betray you in the end…she couldn't possibly imagine what he was going through.

Lydia let him be in silence, it was only necessary. He needed to mourn the betrayal of his master. But not five minutes later, a large missile fired through the sky, a cloud forming behind it's trail. "Oh no! It's a nuke!" A bright flash blinded Lydia as her instinct brought her to cover Jack, making sure nothing would fly into him. The shockwave was intense, the massive pressure of the aftermath of the bomb slammed into her back, slightly cushioning the impact it had on Jack. Once the shockwave dissipated, Jack gently moved Lydia's arms and hoisted himself up, using her as a crutch. She followed his movements, taking the pressure off her left leg, leaning into the tree. In the distance the frightening scene of a mushroom cloud filled the sky. Something she thought she would only see in nuclear fallout cartoons or in other propaganda - not something in real life. She looked at Jack who had turned to Lydia, remorse in his eyes. "Jack." Tears welled up from the sight of destruction. "What have they done?"

Once the cloud dissipated, Jack slowly walked to her, placing his right arm around her shoulders. "Give me a hand, huh?"

"My leg isn't too good, but I'll try my best." She wrapped her left arm around his waist as they both made their way to the recovery balloons that were sent to them. Once they arrived, they began setting up the balloons.

"Major?" He spoke through the codec. "I have Lydia with me. I'm bringing her home."

 _Home_. She wanted to cry. _I'm finally going home._


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS franchise!**

 **Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who subscribed (and/or stopped by to take a look) to this story! :3 Here is the next chapter; and I hope you enjoy! This one is kinda short! AND I wanted to forewarn you guys: instead of updating every week, I might go to a biweekly basis. My personal schedule has changed so if you don't see a chapter next week it will be out the week after :) ENJOY :D**

 **Guest K:** Fresh start...hmmm. We shall see! ;D Here is the next chapter!

 **Aleyuma98:** Thank you for your review! :) I hope I answered all your questions in the PM!

 **CaptainMc** : No, thank YOU for staying tuned! It warms my heart knowing you enjoy it!

* * *

 **"But my dreams they aren't as empty,**

 **As my conscience seems to be.**

 **No one bites back as hard on their anger.**

 **None of my pain and woe can show through."**

 **-The Who**

* * *

Arriving back to America was like something out of a dream. Jack and Lydia made their way through Bolling Air Force base, welcomed by many saluting soldiers and CIA members. A few "Welcome back"'s resonated through her ears the further they moved through the base. Near the entrance, she saw the Major and a few other individuals. A woman with short black hair and an African American gentleman standing at the Major's sides. "Lydia, it's good to see you're alive." His British accent was almost unrecognizable.

"You're funny, Major." She said sarcastically, remembering that he was in touch with Adam the entire time she was there. Now wasn't the time to rip him apart. "Consider me out."

"Lydia." Jack placed his free hand on her shoulder. "Soldiers go through a lot of things…believe me I know." She turned her body to look at him in his green eyes. "Your mission isn't over; we need you now more than ever. You saw what happened out there, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"Do you want all those lives on a guilty conscience?" Lydia looked down, diverting her gaze from Jack's intimidating green eyes. "Thought so." He removed his hand. "I need you to stay here and provide me with backup. You need to help me finish what was started…only on the home-front this time. As for me…I _have_ to go back." As expected…Jack had to do something, not only about GRU and Shagohod, but The Boss. "You did good, kid. Your mission was not a failure, all that matters is that you came back alive."

"Come now, the two of you. We have transport waiting to take you back to base."

Once back at CIA HQ, Lydia was provided with a basic, clean, pressed uniform she thought she would never see again. Taking off her Ocelot Squad garb she laid it on the table in front of her. Two days had passed since she left - it seemed too long. Taking a hold of her old jacket, she reached into the breast pocket, pulling out Klein's dog-tags. "Don't worry buddy, I haven't forgotten about you." She placed the necklace on the table and slipped on a dark brown suit. Lydia grabbed the dog tags and limped out of the changing room. She walked down the porcelain halls that were all to nostalgic. Soon enough, she saw Jack waiting for her at the end of the hallway. "Jack." She greeted.

"Hey." He nodded at her presence.

"Can you help me do something?"

"Don't you want to rest a bit?"

"I can't rest until this is done." She held the dog-tags tight in her fist.

"What is it?"

"I need to look up my late pilot's address and return what was left of him to his family. They need closure."

"Got it." He said. He held out his right arm for her to grab onto so she wouldn't limp too bad on their way to the intel room. Once his address was achieved, he called for a cab to meet them outside the base.

"Thank you Jack."

"No problem. You're doing a very brave thing…and it's, officially, only your first day back. Need company?"

"If you wouldn't mind? I don't think I can handle the big, scary world yet." She nervously chuckled. The both got into the back seat of the car. Jack gave the address to the cab driver and away they went. Lydia thought long and hard about what she was going to say to who resided in the home.

"A word of advice." Jack spoke after about half an hour. "Just say what's on your mind. Don't think about it or you're just going to sound like a jackass."

"Uhhhhh, thanks bud." Lydia bumped her head against the headrest on the chair that was in front of her. Driving the speed limit, it took about an hour for them to arrive - making it 3 P.M.. Getting out of the cab, she leaned back in to talk to Jack. "Don't leave, I'll be right back."

"Good luck." He nodded. She returned the gesture and slowly limped to the front door. It was a small house in a cozy neighborhood - a place where she would assume where a nice guy like him would live. Holding the dog-tags in her right hand, she rang the doorbell with her left index finger. She heard rustling from inside the home and a woman shout.

"Stay right there kids!" She sounded content, happy even. Probably wondering if it was her long-lost lover at the door. When she opened it, her eyes softened. "Hello there." She greeted. She was a very beautiful lady. Her brown hair was cut into a bob that fit her face very nicely. She was probably a size two or three around the waist - very petit.

"Ummm, hi." Lydia greeted. "Are you Mrs. Davis by any chance?"

"That's what they call me." She forced a smile on her face.

"I came to give you something." Lydia looked into the woman's hazel eyes. "Can I have your hand?" With concern in her eyes Mrs. Davis held out her right hand. Lydia placed her left hand below the woman's right and held onto Mrs. Davis' hand with her right, letting the dog-tags rest in between their hands. "Mrs. Davis, my name is Lydia Matthews. The past three months I had been through a great ordeal; with your husband lying greatly on my conscious and I think you deserve some closure." She paused. "He was my pilot on the way to the USSR." She could see tears forming in the widow's eyes, but she was trying to hold them back. "Once we arrived, we were attacked. We had no choice but to jump from the plane at a low altitude. When I found him a about a mile away from me, we were both in pretty bad shape. He was trying to make the best of the situation by cracking a few jokes about his injuries…" She let out a sad burst of laughter. "…but they were worse than what I thought. He died…Mrs. Davis." While she was smiling, silent tears ran down Mrs. Davis' face. "I'm sorry I couldn't save him." Lydia was sharing those tears. "I'm so sorry."

"Tell me, Lydia." Her bottom lip was trembling trying to hold the smile. "Was he happy? Was he happy when he died?"

"In the sunlight, he had a smile on his face." Lydia let go of her hand and let her arms fall to her side. Mrs. Davis looked at the dog-tags and clenched them into her hand. "That is all that is left of him."

"Thank you." She frowned. "Thank you, Lydia." She lunged forward and wrapped her arms around Lydia's neck. A few more "thank you"'s fell from her lips as Lydia felt the woman's cold tears drip onto her shoulder. Lydia rubbed Mrs. Davis' back with her left hand, providing her with as much comfort as she could. A few moments later, she parted. "I'll let you go Lydia. I couldn't thank you enough. Because of you, I have something else to remember him by." Her smile was too heartbreaking. Lydia nodded.

"Goodbye Mrs. Davis." Lydia bid farewell and limped back to the cab.

"That looked like it went well. Let's hope that you don't have to do that again." Jack sighed as she sat in the back seat with him. "Back to HQ." He told the driver. The hour-long drive back was nothing but silence. Once back at HQ, Jack instantly got out of the car. He walked to her side and opened up the door, extending his hand for her to take. "Come on." She took a hold of his wrist and hoisted herself out. Jack pulled out this wallet from his back pocket and tipped the driver a hefty amount of cash; just like that he sped away to find his next victim. "It looks like you'll be staying at HQ for a while until they find you a new apartment." Lydia sighed. "With everyone thinking you were dead and all - "

"I know." Lydia interrupted. "They burned everything, as to be expected."

Jack put his right hand on her shoulder. "Listen. I don't know what you went through these past few months but I need you to be my intel. I'm going in blind but at least you've been through a lot of the area, I assume."

"I hate to disappoint, but I really didn't." She sighed as they began to walk to the entrance. "I was confined in a room the first few weeks and then just walked around in the jungle and tried some troops for the rest of my time there. Those guys were too love-struck with their Major to learn anything that wasn't from him." She lightly laughed at the thought of the Ocelot unit. "I was with them for three months. That kid that you fought, Major Ocelot, he…he kept me alive."

"Right. I assumed as much."

"More than likely, you are going to run into him again. But I need you to promise me something."

"What?"

"Teach him a lesson every time you see him but don't hurt him."

"…don't tell me you _like_ this kid?"

"Jack, I was sleeping in the same room with that guy every day for three months. He wouldn't let me out of his sight…what do you expect? He saved me from being tortured and kept me safe…I can only ask you do the same. Well…you know…except for you sleeping with him."

"I'll try my best…" He lightly laughed and rubbed the top of her head. As the walked inside the base, they approached an elevator at the end of the main corridor. "Major said 'through here it's three floors up'." He dug into his pocket and pulled out a key ring with two keys. "Room 347. Don't get lost."

"As if." Lydia rolled her eyes and snatched the keys from him. She pressed the elevator button waiting for it to descend to the lobby floor. "Thank you Jack. I'll see you in a few days. I need to rest a bit."

"Alright. If you need me, don't hesitate to call my landline. You remember the number?"

"Absolutely _not_. I'll be fine." She weakly smiled. The elevator door opened behind her and she stepped in. "Bye Jack."

"See ya, kid." Once on the third floor she waltzed out of the metal box turning to her right. _342, 343, 344, 345, 346, there you are!_ She approached the room and unlocked it with one of the keys. Inside was a dull room with one small window and a twin-sized bed. To her left was the entrance into the restroom that was armed with a small tub and toilet - just the essentials needed for living. It looks like she would have to eat in the mess hall. Sighing, she threw her keys on the bathroom counter and limped to the bed. Stripping off her clothes, she neatly laid them down on the floor and crawled right into bed, under the white sheets. Once her head hit the pillow she couldn't help but remember her last day with Adam. His touch was still fresh in her mind, his last kiss still lingered, and the warm feeling in her abdomen never went away. She would miss him and certainly never forget him.

She could feel her tear ducts becoming sensitive again. _Dammit, stop your stupid crying and pull yourself together._ Her stomach hurt, it twisted with sorrow as it crept up and up through her heart, tearing it in two without a second thought. More tears started to fall from her eyes when she finally gave in. She was home…but now she couldn't help but feel like she was torn away from another. Figuring out Adam was a double agent, the jokes, the good memories all flooded through her head and caused her immense pain. She was feeling it all throughout her body. Was this what it felt like to love someone? To have them ripped away? She was never going to see him again; if only she was able to look into his blue eyes one more time.

Hours passed without any rest. Her mind was tormenting her every second with old memories…good or bad her brain didn't give a damn. The morning sun blared through the small window on the east wall. Swinging her legs over the bed, she looked at her left thigh. Around the bandages, scars from the crash spread all along the lateral side down to her knee. She placed her left hand on the covered wound and inhaled deeply. A knock at her door startled her. "Lydia?" It was the Major. "Lydia, I've brought you some new attire. Open up."

"Just leave it." She choked out with a dry mouth.

"And you need to eat something. You haven't indulged yourself since you've landed." Did he really have the nerve to do this right now? Rage bubbled up in her. It was _his_ fault she was sent on this mission. He made it seem like it was going to be a cake-walk. Not a _suicide_. Not to where she would experience the thing she feared most!

"Leave it _and_ leave me!" Lydia snapped. "This is all _your_ fault!" The door unlocked and unlatched, swinging right open. Lydia quickly grabbed the sheets and covered her half-naked body as the Major waltzed in. She stared at him with ferocity, wanting to rip out his spine for barging in. He closed the door behind him and stood next to the restroom.

"I know you're angry." He acknowledged. She rolled her eyes and scoffed at his attempt to understand. Angry is the last word she would use. "It was a mistake sending you out there. I couldn't feel more guilty matter of fact. The only thing that matters now is that _you are alive_. You are safe. You are back _home_." Lydia deviated her gaze from his face and to the floor. He placed the folded clothes on the foot of the bed. "Jack is set to leave on the twenty-ninth." She couldn't help but feel another twinge of anger. If anyone could do it, Jack could put a stop to this mess. He was the only one that could stop The Boss.

"I'm glad you trusted Ocelot in the end." The mention of his code name just made her heart ache. "I trust you with this information. I called him a few weeks after he had taken you in, he let me know he had found an American woman at his feet. I remembered the last call you gave me. I ordered Ocelot to keep you alive. You remind me of him, actually. Young, intelligent, full of life…both of you didn't have anything to lose. I took your information about Sokolov to heart and knew your window to escape was short. I only hoped you were smart enough to get the hint." He laughed a little. "Without a doubt you succeeded. And here you are."

"What's you angle? There's more to this…you - you have another motive." The Major was in contact with Adam for how long before she had arrived? Lydia was trying to piece everything together. Her head started to hurt; it was trying to sponge in all the information. "Not just with me…but for Jack…for The Boss?"

"I'll leave that to you." He nodded. "Make sure you eat something." The Major turned his back to her and walked to the door. "Lydia?" He twisted the handle. "What I told you doesn't leave this room. Do you understand me?" She didn't need to say anything. The silence should give him acknowledgement. He opened the door and walked out, making sure to close it behind him. She looked at the gray-colored clothes he set next to her. _I guess I can't sit here and fester._ She scoffed at herself. _They're not giving me any time._ She slipped on the clothes and limped to the door. _When I open this door I dedicate myself to assisting you and only you Jack. I'll help you stop this madness. I'll help you stop The Boss. Fuck FOX and fuck The Major, all that matters this time is you._ Twisting the door knob, she entered into a whole new world.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise!**

 **Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who subscribed and/or stopped by to take a gander! :D**

 **Guest K:** I had to give some love and closure to our dear, late Pilot :'( And thank you for the feedback! :D I'm glad you can sense the impression Ocelot had on our Missus. I'm really happy you're still enjoying it! :D BLAM, here's the next chapter!

 **CaptainMc** : Now's your time to scoot to the back of your seat because here it is! :D And then scoot back forward in anticipation...it might be sooner than you THINK! I'm wondering what you think will happen ;D

* * *

 **"If you feel like leaving,**

 **you know you can go.**

 **But why don't you stay until tomorrow?**

 **If you want to be free,**

 **You know, all you got to do is say so."**

 **-Hall and Oates**

* * *

The morning of August 29th arrived too soon. Her leg had almost healed, but she still walked with a limp…to be expected. The doctors wanted her to walk with a cane to ease the pain, but she refused every opportunity. There was no way she was becoming dependent on something like that when she was perfectly healthy everywhere else. Before leaving her room to bid Jack farewell she looked at herself in the mirror. She was dressed in a new camouflage uniform…just like the good 'ol training days.

She had visited Jack a few times while he was in the advanced infirmary. He was better than ever…his fractured arm had completely healed in such a short time. He was ready for this. He was ready to go out and put an end to this Cold War. Lydia tied her long hair up into a ponytail to reveal a light-colored burn scar that started at her right ear lobe and trailed down her neck in a random pattern. She sighed at the brutal memory of the torture from that Russian brute. Hopefully Jack would have more luck than her.

This past week, everything seemed to be tempting her to sneak onto that plane and return to Russia for some closure. She grabbed a new codec that was lying on the sink's counter and placed the object in her _right_ pocket this time. Lydia was given her own frequency for Jack just in case if he needed to call. She was partnered with Agents Anderson and Clark - codenames Sigint and Para-Medic. Lydia's codename was Iris. In greek mythology, this goddess was a messenger that delivered prophesies and information to demigods - slightly fitting for the journey ahead. Making her way to the lobby floor, she met up with Jack, who was patiently waiting for her. "You just couldn't leave without saying goodbye, huh?" She smiled and approached his right side.

"Well, we did seem to acquire of hobby of seeing each other off during mission departures." He grinned and held out his arm for her to grab a hold. "Why are you dressed like that?" He sized her up as she latched onto his arm, starting on the way out the door. "You weren't thinking about…going with me?"

"Honestly, yeah I was." She murmured in defeat and heard Jack roughly sigh. "Now that I've had the taste of it…I just can't get enough of the battlefield I guess."

" _Hilarious_." He dully responded and rolled his eyes once they arrived to the cab waiting for them.

"Are you still going by Snake?" All he did in return was make a grunting noise. This was her first day back on the job; way too soon. She was given almost no time to recover, just as Jack was, but at least he was thrown in the accelerated infirmary to make sure he was healed to par. As they arrived to the military air port, they were greeted by a few grunts in uniform.

"Sir!" They both exclaimed. Jack casually saluted back, followed suit by Lydia. After a few minutes of walking, they entered the jet hangar. Major Zero, Para-Medic, and Sigint were there waiting for them.

"Good luck, Jack." The Major held out his hand for him to shake which he gladly took. He grabbed his essential belongings that were laid out to him. "You have all of our frequencies. Call us when you need anything and we will do the same. God be with you."

"Please Major, there is no luck on the battlefield." He recited The Boss' words like clock-work. Bidding farewell to her mentor it was time to get to work once the jet departed.

A little over a full day passed; the clock struck 11:30pm on August 30 and the commencement of Operation: Snake Eater. Sitting next to Para-Medic, the major called over the codec. "Snake, we can't risk a HALO jump this time around. According to Iris, Airspace Security has gone tighter since we are least here. We can't get as close to the ground as we did during the Virtuous mission. So instead…we'll be using one of our newest weapons…Snake, you've being given an honor on par with Alan Shepard. This is our last chance. Show your patriotism. If you fail, you'll be back in a hospital bed again, waiting for the firing squad." That was sure a way to motivate Jack.

He wasn't afraid of death…but if he were to fail and betray his company he would be branded a traitor…or something probably among those lines. Some guys already thought he was a traitor that assisted in The Boss' defection to the Soviet Union. The Boss was hard to read; there's no reason Lydia would see why she turned Red in the first place. Enough citizens assumed the same about her. Lydia and Jack definitely were making things hard for the major and none of them would come out heroes in any sense of the word…at least in the public's opinion. The Soviet chairman had called and threatened President Johnson with nuclear war…due to the lab being blown to smithereens and the American aircraft being too close by. But…he had used The Boss as a scapegoat.

President Johnson testified up and down that the American government was not involved…but Khrushchev wasn't having it. He gave Johnson one week to prove that we weren't involved somehow…that someone, that person being Jack, had to kill Colonel Volgin and The Boss. There was no dodging this threat, or we would be in nuclear war for sure.

Jack's voice soon sounded over The Major's radio. "Are the Russians going to be helping us?"

"The KGB has promised to lend us one of their communication satellites so that you and I can talk to each other."

"That's it?" Jack sounded thoroughly disappointed.

"They've also put us in touch with a couple of insiders." The Major answered thoughtfully.

"Insiders?"

"There was a defection in September 1960…do you remember it?" Of course he would remember it…and so did she. There were two NSA codebreakers that turned themselves into the Soviet Union.

"These two have been training with the KGB ever sense for exactly this kind of situation." ADAM and EVA, ironic to the last bit. "I've been told that ADAM has infiltrated Volgin's ranks." At this, Major Zero glanced at Lydia. _What is he looking at me for?_ She was trying to keep her mind off of the obvious, but the Major was now making that extremely difficult. She couldn't let Adam get in the way of the mission, not now. Not ever. "We've also arranged for him to provide you with an escape route. You'll need to rendezvous with him when you get there."

"Drone launching." The pilot said over broadcast. It was showtime. The Air Force pilot was soon being tailed, he radioed in. "I'm going to try and lose them! They're approaching fast!" There were a few minutes of radio silence until we heard him.

"This is Snake. Do you read me?" With a sigh of relief Lydia and Para-Medic gave each other a side-hug for celebration.

"Loud and clear." The major smiled in response. "Glad to see you landed safely."

"I got blown pretty far off target…"

"Snake…we'll take this time to of over your objectives one more time. Rescue Sokolov. Find out what's happened to the Shagohod - then destroy it. And then finally, eliminate The Boss…"

"Eliminate The Boss…" The sorrow was hidden in his voice, but there was no doubt in Lydia's mind that he could complete the mission. It's messed up sending her own apprentice to kill her, but she was a traitor…wasn't she?

"This mission will be dubbed Operation: Snake Eater."

"Because I'll be taking on The Boss and her COBRA unit, right?"

"And don't forget about Colonel Volgin." The Major answered.

"I'm not a hired killer." He sounded agitated. Killing wasn't Jack's forte. _Trust me Jack, that man deserves worse than death._ A swelling of animosity filled her gut as the both of them continued.

"I know. But that was the Kremlin's demand."

"Demand? You mean it wasn't just a request. What's it to us if the Khrushchev regime is threatened by the colonel and his faction?"

The Major sighed. "If supporting the current regime helps us avoid nuclear exchange, then that's what we'll do."

"And what are the CIA's demands?"

"Our priorities are the rescue of Sokolov and the destruction of the Shagohod."

"Roger that, Major Tom…errrr Zero."

"My frequency is 140.85." He stopped for a brief pause and looked at the two girls sitting patiently waiting to be announced. "Oh, I almost forgot…Para-Medic is with us again and Iris is here too."

"Just to be clear…is it their last chance too?"

"For Para-Medic, that is _if_ you fail, she'll have her medical license revoked. It's more or less the same kind of fate…Her frequency is the same as during the Virtuous Mission, 145.73. As for Iris, she would more than likely be killed with you on the information of your death and/or failure. We can't keep her safe if you die on the battle field…my hands would be tied." _Fair enough._ "Her frequency is 150.87, she will provide you with intel; if you need to identify anything is nearby or if you need help planning an escape route. She will be most helpful for the research facility since she spent most of her time there. And there's one more person on your support team." Both Para-Medic and Lydia looked at the African-American male sitting behind them. "His name is Mr. Sigint. He's an expert on the latest in weapons and equipment technology. You'll be going up against some of the world's most advanced weaponry when you infiltrate the research facility. If you have any questions, just ask him. His frequency is 148.41."

"Mr. Sigint. Got it."

"ADAM, your KGB contact, is waiting for you at the abandoned factory up ahead."

"The same factory Sokolov was being held in last week."

"Yes. Meet up with ADAM first. He's cleared the way for you to rescue Sokolov."

"How will I know this ADAM guy when I see him?" _I don't know Jack, you've seen him before. He's kinda handsome._ Lydia inwardly thought.

"You'll know once you reach the factory. The whole are's been polluted by the fallout from that nuclear blast. No one else would dare come close. The password is…'Who are the Patriots?' and 'La-Li-Lu-Le-Lo'."

"Gotcha."

"You've been equipped with a .45 for this mission. Be careful…it's noisy."

"I thought standard FOX procedures was to procure on site weapons acquisition." Otherwise, sending him in 'naked'.

"The circumstances are different this time. You're now on an official mission for the United Stated government…It will be necessary to make your presence known to a certain extent. To the Khrushchev regime, at the very least. But remember — this is still a sneaking mission. Snake, if you fail this mission, it will mean an all-out nuclear war. Keep that in mind and proceed with extreme caution."

"Understood. Commencing Operation Snake Eater."

"Over and out." The Major said and hun up the mic. "Well that was exciting, wasn't it?" He turned to the three agents. "When Snake calls you, make sure to answer. If he's in danger or in a pickle, it's up to you to get him out. Understand?"

"Yessir." They all resonated. "If we haven't heard from him in a while, should we call?" Lydia questioned.

"Good inquiry. Only for emergencies. We don't want him in the middle of a stealth pursuit and have his codec ring."

"Right…good point." Lydia trailed off.

"All three of you are dismissed. Keep your codecs on." Before they could have the chance to get out of their chairs, Zero's codec blared through the silence.

"This is Snake. Major Zero?" He sounded out of breath.

"I read you, Snake."

"I was ambushed by The Boss."

They all gasped. "You were what?!"

"The drone's been shot to hell. It's up in flames."

"That's not good. Enemy scouts are going to come looking for you."

"Yeah, I know. But what was The Boss doing her win the first place? There's got to be a leak somewhere."

 _Adam?_ Lydia thought to herself while listening in. "No…that's impossible. The man The Boss is working with, Volgin, isn't exactly on speaking terms with Khrushchev."

"I lost my gun…The Boss destroyed it…"

"Snake, I know how you're feeling." No…he couldn't possibly know. He couldn't know what's running through Jack's head at this moment. Zero was delusional. "It's hard for me to believe, too - that a legendary hero like The Boss would go over to the Russians, that she'd double-cross us like this…But that's how it is, and if you don't accept it, you'll never be able to beat her."

"That's not the problem." He responded, slightly frustrated. "In terms of sheer technique, I'll never be able to beat her. I know that all too well."

"You've got to do it Snake. She's your enemy and your objective."

"Enemy! We were together for ten years. And you you tell me she's my enemy?"

"Enough." Zero interrupted. God, Lydia couldn't begin. Being together with someone that long then reuniting under these circumstances…it could almost be unbearable. While Lydia was deep in thought, Zero kept giving him orders, trying to keep Jack on track. Lydia was snatched out of her daze when Zero ordered agin that they could be dismissed. Standing up out of her chair, she walked out of the room followed by Para-Medic.

"Hey." The woman called out, approaching Lydia from behind. Lydia turned around and looked her in the eyes. She was a beautiful woman; she has always attracted to Jack…no matter how much she wanted to deny it. "Are you feeling ok?"

"…why?" Lydia raised her eyebrow. "I mean, I'm put back on duty way too soon in my opinion, but oh well…right?"

"You know…if you need to talk-"

"Thanks for the offer…but I'll pass." This was all too fishy. First the whole fiasco with the Major and now Dr. Clark asking if she wanted to have some kind of 'girl talk'? Out of the blue? It's not like she didn't trust her…it was the people around her that made Lydia think twice.

"Alright, suit yourself. Just remember that I'm here if you need me. I could also take a look at that leg if you wanted."

"Yeah…" Lydia trailed off. Besides visiting the infirmary, she never got a solid read on what could possibly be wrong and if she would have a limp her entire life. "In that case, I'll take you up that offer." Lydia weakly smiled.

"Alright, follow me; I'll take you to the lab." She motioned her hand for Lydia to follow.

"Thanks."

"Sorry it took me so long to get to you. I was very busy trying to get Jack up and running in the very short time frame…you know how that can be."

"Sure. Trying to find out intel is just as tedious as surgery, especially under immense pressure. The takes me back to the first time we were trying to smuggle Sokolov into the U.S.."

"You did a great job with that. In such a small deadline, you exceeded our expectations."

"No need to butter me up, I was just comparing." Lydia sighed. They turned a corner and walked into the medical wing. "Hey, is FOX eventually going to get their own space? I know we have that one intel room but -"

"I'm not too sure." She held open the door to the infirmary. "Probably after this mission and we prove to President Johnson and the department head that we could handle our own special secret ops they'll let us have a building or two."

"Or two?" Lydia chuckled. "How big do you guys want to make FOX, exactly?"

"You make it seem like you're not sticking around." Dr. Clark accused as polite as she could be.

"If this is your way to get me to talk to you about what happened, no. It's not working. I see right through you Dr. Clark." All Clark did was sigh.

"Alright, if you say so. Go ahead and sit on the bed…I'll give you an X-Ray." She motioned toward the uncomfortable-looking hospital bed. "So, what happened to your leg in the first place? I need to know…patient to doctor. Go ahead and take off your pants, I need to see the extent of the injury."

"The hard drive of my codec crushed into my leg on impact after the plane crash. Then about a week ago I was shot." Lydia slid off her pants then laid on her back as Dr. Clark wheeled the large X-Ray machine toward the end of the bed. "I performed self-surgery on both cases."

"Well, your bullet wound is healing nicely…but let's see what the bullet and your codec severed in there. Bear with me this will only take a minute or two as I get different angles." Lydia closed her eyes as she heard the large machine shutter photos. A few minutes had passed when Dr. Clark spoke up again. "Alright, it'll be about thirty before these develop. I'm going to place them in the room right over there to develop," She pointed to a developing room. "And I'll see you in about half an hour."

"Okie doke." Lydia responded. She laid her head back on the firm pillow and heard Dr. Clark emerge into the other room, closing the door behind her. Lydia let out a long sigh and shut her eyes. _The more time I spend with these people the more I get suspicious. The Major must realize that by now. I can't provide much help to Jack anyway…did the Major assign me to intel just to keep a leash on me? AHHHHH I can't believe this!_ Her head started to hurt with the amount of theories racing though her cranium. _I don't even want to THINK of Adam's involvement in all of this._ No matter how hard she tried to keep him off her mind…he kept prowling his way back.

* * *

 _"Really? Is that all you've got?" Lydia taunted a frustrated Ocelot. "I know you can do better than that!"_

 _"God dammit woman! You are so FRUSTRATING." He was holding his face, kneeling on the ground after getting a good smack to the cheek._

 _"No need to get your bloomers in a knot." Lydia snickered. "Come at me again." Standing in her basic CQC stance, she placed her weight on her right leg, lunging her left forward. She kept her arms up, but up above her chest and crossed in a boxing position. "Proud creature, my ass. Fight like a MAN." She narrowed her eyes, trying her best to piss him off. She had been sparring with him, trying to teach him a few techniques…but he just wasn't getting it. In an angry motion, Ocelot went straight from his kneeling position to a straight-up sprint, charging at her with all his might. When he was close enough, Lydia side-stepped and plummet to the ground._

 _He just laid there, face in the grass. A frustrated sigh vibrated away from him. Her stomach started to bellow up with a large amount of laughter she tried to hold in. But…she just couldn't repress it any longer! Her arms wrapped around her stomach as she bent over, laughing her guts out. He looked like a little kid who just got fed up and threw himself to the ground! He was still motionless, probably too embarrassed to show his dirty face._

 _"Oh my god, Ocelot." She heaved out, a tear falling from her eyes. She slowly made her way to him, laughing with every step. As she got to his side, she repressed it the best she could. Her knees touched the ground as she attempted to roll Ocelot over. "Come on, you." He willingly rolled over and had the most sour look on his face. His beret had fallen off his head and his uniform was dirty from falling so much._

 _"It's not in my character to give up…"_

 _"But you give up?" She looked into his eyes. All he could do was sigh and close his eyes. "You could never admit it!" She slapped his chest lightly with her right hand._

 _"You're just making me weak." He kept his eyes closed._

 _"What?" Lydia cocked her eyebrow._

 _"Nothing, I said you were frustrating." He opened his blue eyes and stared at the sky above. Lydia stood up._

 _"It's getting dark, we should go."_

 _"Just wait." He wined. "It's always 'let's go do this' or 'lets go do that' with you." He sounded annoyed. Lydia rolled her eyes and sat down next to his head. "And now you put your butt in my face."_

 _"You're welcome." She laughed._


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise!**

 **Author's Note: TWO UPDATES IN THE SAME DAY?! DAFUQ?! I love you guys 3 Enjoy!**

* * *

 **"Well, let me tell you 'bout the way she looked** **.**

 **The way she acts and the color of her hair.**

 **Her voice was soft and cool,**

 **Her eyes were clear and bright...**

 **But she's not there.**

 **But it's too late to say you're sorry.**

 **How would I know? Why should I care?**

 **Please don't bother trying to find her,**

 **She's not there."**

 **-The Zombies**

* * *

Hours had passed; Lydia had found herself falling asleep at the gap of silence. Her codec's ring jolted her awake. "Oh god, here I go!" She clicked it on; placing her index and middle finger to her right ear.

"Iris, this is Snake…do you read me?"

"Loud and clear." She couldn't help but smile…but heard some kind of ruckus in the background. "What's with the feedback?"

"That's what I'm calling about. Your _boyfriend_ is pretty annoying. I'm about to teach him another lesson he won't forget. Second one today."

"Don't forget about the unit. No matter how much he swears 'Ocelot's hunt alone'" She tried her best to mimic his voice. "They always stick around him…they're a tad bit…infatuated."

"Thanks for the intel. Over and out."

"Over and out." She repeated and silenced the codec. Not a moment later, Dr. Clark emerged herself from the infirmary entrance.

"I see you're awake. Sorry, my doctor's instinct kicked in a told me to let you sleep." She chuckled. "Are you ready to see your scans?"

"Well…I can't say 'no' now, can I?" Lydia responded, mentally preparing herself for the results.

"Alright." Dr. Clark grabbed scans that were sitting on a table a few feet away, clipping them to a glowing board on the wall. "So, here is the scan of your left leg." She began. Lydia squinted and saw there were tiny white pieces enveloped in her leg, along with some bone damage. "You have small pieces of metal shrapnel all in your thigh. The bullet that hit you hit your bone…which started to heal on its own after you took it out. You will have permanent bone and nerve damage from that…making your limp nearly impossible to go away." Lydia sighed at the news.

"I half expected that."

"Yeah, and one more thing. You may experience sharp pains in your thigh because of your nervous system."

"Got it. Thank you Dr. Clark."

"Your welcome…hey, was that Jack that you talked to?"

"It was, he was just repaying a favor that I told him about." Lydia smiled.

"I've gotten a few calls from him myself. I'm glad he's alright so far. Well it's on to another day's work. You can leave whenever you want!"

"Thanks." Lydia grinned at her sudden change in subjects. "You know, doc…I know Jack is an oblivious guy but you're gonna miss your chance." Her shoulders jumped at the mention of chance! Dr. Clark spun around as quickly as she could, her face red with such embarrassment! "I'm just saying."

"Oh please, what do you know?" She twiddled her thumbs together.

"I suppose I know what it's like missing that chance. I mean…talk to him, I guess?"

"I try to talk to him all the time! He's never interested in what I have to say!"

"Well…what do you talk to him about. When you're not helping with a mission?"

"Uhhh." She paused, placing her index finger to her lips. "Movies?"

"Thant would be why. You should talk to him about guns or something…maybe ask him to teach you how to shoot?"

"I already know how to shoot a gun thank you very much!" Dr. Clark crossed her arms together in front of her chest.

"Alright, your loss." Lydia shrugged, sliding herself off of the bed. "I'm going to go to the control room, see if I can pick up any intel."

"Alright. I have another patient to attend to. If you see the Major, let him know for me?"

"Sure sure." Lydia waved and walked out the door and into the bland hall. She weaved her way through the corridors and multiple lobbies. She passed people who would greet her and others would whisper once she passed. Things sure had changed. First, she was the young rookie with the 'gift' of superior intellect. Now? She was the rookie that had her first mission gone way south…reputations run fast in the base, that's for sure. Lydia sighed when she reached the command center for FOX. Walking through the door she took a seat in front of some communications equipment; placing some large head phones over her head. Now it was the waiting game. She would have to wait to get a call from one of their on-ground covert officers or get a call rom Jack asking for her opinion on something.

Hours of silence had rolled by, making Lydia anxious as to what was happening over seas. She was sitting in her loaned room in the base, glancing out the glass window. The night sky was engulfed in dark gray clouds, blocking out the light of the moon. The thought of Jack's silence got to her…was he alright? What about The Boss? What about…her trance was interrupted when a large boom of thunder rang through her ears. Her shoulders jolted in surprise when a large surge of lightning made its way through the clouds. Lydia's eyes narrowed at the sight of the irregular patterns. She placed her left hand on the cold glass and raised her right on the right crevice of her neck. She felt the scar left behind from the electricity she was tortured with. The powerful ring of the thunder was dulled out at her focus concentrated on the lightning outside.

 _"Do you know what happens when electricity collides with water?"_ With each flash, a memory emerged from her mind. The nefarious voice of Volgen filled her ears. _"Go ahead, let me ask you again."_ Her hand glided from her neck to her cheek, she felt the thick scar from the first punch thrown at her. Her neck felt tense as the searing pain from the electricity surged around her with another flash. Her left arm retracted to her body as she brought her own arms around her stomach. Falling to her knees, she turned and placed her back against the wall holding up the window. The room flashed with light from outside. _"You aren't even going to look at me, bitch?"_ Lydia tightly shut her eyes, and held her hands to her ears. _No! Get out of my head!_

She didn't know how much time had passed reliving those moments trapped in that cell. Her attention was gathered when there was a loud ring coming from her codec. There was still rain colliding with the glass window above her. Her hand found its way into her pocket and pulled out the codec, turning it on. "This is Iris." With her free hand, she pinched her temples between her thumb and middle finger to ease the headache creeping its way up.

"Iris, this is Snake. Do you read me?"

"Loud and clear, what can I do for you?"

"Tell me about Groznyj Grad. I know you spend the majority of your time there. I want to cover my bases before I go in."

"Although I haven't taken it, I'm almost positive that there is an underground passage that will keep the guards out of your hair."

"Right. I have another contact that told me the same thing."

"Oh…well, it's very heavily guarded. You need a key-card to get almost everywhere."

"Yeah…I've got a plan to cover that part."

"Good. From what we saw when we left, Granin and Sokolov should be on the verge of finishing that super-weapon. They kept it in the west weapon's lab. If Sokolov is anywhere, he's probably in there."

"West weapon's lab. Got it."

"Good luck Snake."

"Over and out." Following the departing words, there were a few knocks on the door.

"Agent Matthews? Are you alright?" It was Dr. Clark.

"Ugh." Lydia hoisted herself off the ground. "Yes doc."

"You've been locked in there for a while."

"Oh yeah?" Lydia sighed. "How long?"

"It's the evening of the 1st. Almost go-time."

"Are you kidding me?!" _He only has one day left? At least he's in Groznyj Grad…you can do it Jack._

"We're all going to be in the command center, it's an all-nighter shift. We need your tracking skills in the room."

"Right. I'll be there." Lydia acknowledged. She felt a headache creep its way into her frontal lobe. "Ugh." She pinched her temples with the thumb and middle finger of her right hand.

 _"Stop whining."_

"Oh shut up." Lydia removed her hand from her head and looked behind her expecting Adam to be there. "Why did I look?" She sighed. "You're just gonna haunt me forever, huh?" She shook her head side to side, walking over to a small dresser. She pulled open one of the small drawers and folded her hands around a uniform neatly packed into the drawer. She pulled it out and laid it on the bed. A few moments later, she was dressed in a pencil skirt and dark green blouse; hair tied into a high-pony tail.

The time spent waiting was excruciating. There was no contact from Jack or EVA, a woman he had apparently befriended on the battle-field. The anticipation only rose with each second. Jack…he was only a few hours away from either starting or halting a potential nuclear fall-out.

Near the dawn of the final day, everyone's nerves had run short waiting for some kind of call from Jack. "Ugh." Lydia stood up from her chair. "Anyone want any coffee?"

"If that'll take our minds off of Snake."

"I doubt that, but it will keep you awake."

"Yeah, I'll have one…black!" Sigint motioned.

"Not a fan." The Major inserted his two-cents.

"I'm good, too much caffeine can cause heart problems." Dr. Clark sighed.

"Said no one ever." Lydia mocked the doctor, turning around and limping out the guarded door. "I'll be right back, going to get coffee." The Marine standing at post just nodded as she walked down the hall and into a small refreshment room. After filling her small paper cup with loads of cream and sugar, she grabbed Sigint's coffee and marched back to the room. "Hey, you mind getting the door for me?"

"Sure thing." He didn't seem too amused about helping her…as would anyone she supposed. Getting captured and some-what assisting the enemy really tarnishes reputations that's for sure. The soldier opened the door and allowed her to go inside. "Here you go, bud." Lydia placed the hot black coffee into Sigint's open hand.

"Thank you, Jesus." Lydia sat down in her chair again, sipping the glorious coffee. "Ugh, what I would give for a PPJ right now." She sighed.

"Don't even talk about food right now." Sigint joked.

"Lydia, while you were gone, I received a call from Jack." Dr. Clark said.

"What?! Is he ok?!"

"He's fine, but EVA on the other hand…I had to tell him how to patch her up. She was in pretty bad shape but I helped him through it." Lydia happily sighed.

"Good, no unwanted casualties yet." Lydia sighed, watching the tracking display on the northern wall. The Major was also keeping a close eye on it. They all knew of Jack's location now, but the tracker was somehow destroyed. From Dr. Clark's report, he was close to Rokovoj Bereg where a WiG was waiting for departure. Not but an hour later, in the north-west corner of the room, there was a dull mumbling over a radio tuned into Russian air. "I got it." Lydia stood from her chair and jogged to the radio. Turning the knob up, she listened in to some type of order given.

"What is it, agent?"

"I'm not sure." Lydia grabbed a pen and paper. "It sounds like a cipher of some kind." She turned the radio up louder, writing down everything she could hear. The male over the radio spoke in gibberish! For the most part, it sounded like it could possibly be an english code. If so…what an amateur!

"—SZ DEVYATNADSAT —QUT" This was repeated twice, but recorded once.

"Devyantnadsat…that sounds Russian." Lydia pondered.

"Nineteen." The major responded.

"Excellent, thank you Major." The male kept repeating the same line; but his voice unfortunately faded in and out so Lydia couldn't record the whole message. "Shit, come on." She studied the words in front of her. _Ok…most common english letters are vowels, right? God damn, there are thousands of codes on what this could be! Gotta start somewhere…If I were going by keyboards on a type-writer…_ Lydia spelt out the alphabet on the paper and then followed the type-writer input keys below it. Matching up the letters, the last three to the command was —AGE. _Alright, looks like I'm on the right track._ Looking at the first word, the last two letters ended up being —LT. "God, what the fuck is he saying?" She turned up the radio more, pressing her ear against the speaker.

"Come on Lydia, I nee you to hurry. This is probably dangerous if it's Soviet air control."

"Shut up Major, I'm aware!" She finished her sentence at the end of the males saying 'nineteen'.

"Thfooqoot." That was her last chance, the male stopped.

"Thfoo—" What the fuck was that supposed to mean? She wrote the corresponding phrase on the paper, staring at it. _Ok T is E…That oo sound, that must be 'U'…so that's a 'G'._ She didn't need to decipher the F to figure out the rest. _Engage…ENGAGE?!_ "Major, I need you to get the president on the line _stat_."

"I need an explanation." Major Oh walked to the telephone hanging on the wall.

"-L.T. That must be a codename of some kind, nineteen the last word is engage. Going with the assumption that Jack killed The Boss, he's in the air with EVA as we speak…and that means…"

"Someone is going to shoot him down." The Major finished, dialing a few numbers.

"Exactly."

"Get me The President, it's urgent." There was a a thirty second pause or so before the Major spoke again. "Mr. President, this is an urgent matter. Snake Eater was a success, but there are aircrafts about to shoot him down as we speak. Call Khrushchev and tell him to pull the retaliation back." Not a moment later, the Major hung up the phone. Lydia, Sigint, and Para-Medic all let out a sigh of relief. "It's not over yet." The thoughts were interrupted when a frantic Russian male started yelling over the radio. But the only thing they needed to hear was 'Khrushchev'. About ten seconds into the call, the magic word was spoken followed by a pat on the back from Sigint.

"Snake's alive thanks to you." Sigint said, giving her another hard pat on the back.

"Good job, Lydia." Dr. Clark smiled. "He's coming home."

Major Oh only nodded his head, and dialed into Jack's frequency. It only took a few seconds for him to answer. "Well done, Snake!" He didn't even give Jack the opportunity to talk first.

"The MiGs disengaged…" Lydia smiled.

"Most likely under orders from Khrushchev." The corner of her mouth twitched into a straight face.

"Was this his way of helping us?"

"Who knows? Maybe he didn't want things to get messier than they already are. Or maybe he just wanted us to owe him one. The important thing is, you made it out alive. As long as Khrushchev is with us, I don't think they'll be coming after you." Lydia wasn't really appalled that the Major was leading Jack down an alternative path. Deep in her mind, she thought she should have a small sliver of credit…but that's not how the Major worked. Learning from her whole experience in Russia and him being in contact with Adam…he had a whole other scheme up his sleeve. He was setting up lies that would help him in the long run; if only Jack could see that too. "It should be smooth sailing all the way to Alaska." The Major continued. "I'm sending someone out to Galena Base to meet you."

"To meet me?"

"To meet him?" Lydia and Dr. Clark spoke simultaneously. Almost just as confused as Jack sounded.

"The DCI and The President himself are going to be waiting at Langley. Don't keep them waiting." The Major hung up the call and turned his attention to the team. "Good job…all of you." He clapped his hands together. "All three of you played a crucial role in this operation and now…it's mission complete. More than likely, when Jack returns we will be holding some kind of ceremony. There's no doubt that his actions in Russia are hero worthy. We will await word from The President, but for now you are all dismissed."

"Thank you sir." Dr. Clark said, turning and walking out of the room. Sigint only nodded and held up a victory sign with his hand, following Dr. Clark out.

"Lydia, I need to speak with you." The Major turned his attention to Lydia, who was just waiting for his official word of her termination. "Having you on the team as long as you were was an honor. You are one of the brightest young females I've encountered."

"No need for all the compliments, Major." Lydia sighed.

"You reputation among Washington and the Nation is diminishing the CIA and our credibility as a unit, some higher-ups call you a traitor of sorts. A soviet sympathizer."

"Yeah, I got that."

"From this moment out, and by order of the President, you are dismissed from duty here in FOX and the United States Government as a citizen for assisting an enemy country in these affairs. You are no longer allowed in the United States by law and are to be deported in two days." Lydia unclipped her badge from her collar, placing it on a table to her right, followed by her key card.

"So you're just going to throw me out on my own, huh? Just how you left me in the USSR?"

"I've arranged a two-night stay in the hotel on 8th Street and Washington until your flight. That will give you ample time to find living arrangements. Your final pay will be delivered when you find yourself a home." The Major held out his right hand for her to take. She couldn't believe he had the _audacity_ to shake her hand…

"Well isn't that just a big 'fuck you'. Well fuck you too, Major." Lydia sassily smiled, folded her hands behind her back, and turned out of the room for the last time.

* * *

 **Jack "Snake"'s POV**

 **Two Days Later**

There was no doubt that the truth hidden in EVA's tape had left his mind. Walking down the hallway towards The President's office might've meant something to him once…but not today. _Self sacrifice, huh?_ He stopped at the doors to enter the Oval Office, lingering his hand on the knobs before he would open it and accept the fake award of heroism. The chatter coming from the room was almost deafening, he didn't want to have any of it. Letting out a sigh, he twisted the knobs and swung open both doors. The various conversations around the room ceased at his entrance and all their attention became unwavering.

The applauds from his 'comrades' and 'bosses' were dulled out when he saw the presence of The Major, Para-Medic, and Sigint…he couldn't help but sense that something was missing. No witty remark, no young kid hassling him about his adventure…Lydia. She must've figured something out or caught onto something hefty for her not to be there. The Major knew the truth about The Boss and The Legacy this whole time…did everyone else? Approaching President Johnson, he stood still…daring to look him in the eye. Johnson's secretary stood to the right, holding the fake medal of honor.

"You are above even The Boss." The President spoke - only making Jack's eyes narrow at the mention of _her_ title. "I hereby award you the title: Big Boss." The President pinned the medal to his left breast pocket. No matter how this would hold him up in the world it wouldn't do much but weigh him down. Out of respect for his title, Commander in Chief, Jack saluted President Johnson. "You are a _true patriot_." The words circled around in his head. What _was_ a true patriot? To follow the orders of a backwards country? To be their dog and blindly serve out any order they give?

No. He was not worthy of the title Big Boss, there was nothing but anguish behind it. Nothing but the pain of remembering the one who held the world together. How did he allow himself to go through with it? The President dared and held out his right hand for Jack to shake. Keeping his posture in attention, his eye drifted to look at his hand…trying everything in his power not to shake it. But…he had to play this role a little longer. Johnson stepped closer to him, jolting his hand, urging Jack to shake his hand. Biting back his admiration for The Boss, he slowly descended his hand only to be met by Johnson grabbing onto it quickly with both, giving a short shake.

The pictures, the fame, the press, none of that mattered to Jack. His mind was empty and only had enough space for the truth that seeped into his every nerve. The blinding flashes from the cameras illuminated the dull room as the President posed them for a picture. The memory of The Boss was trapped within him and was to stay there forever. He didn't give a damn about anyone else in that room - they could be laying on the floor in a pool of their own blood and he wouldn't bat an eye.

Jack dismissed himself from the vicinity of the Capitol and returned to his quarters where he grabbed the suitcase that held The Boss' gun…the very one he took her life with. He began his travels to Arlington Cemetery, where he would visit The Boss one last time. He weaved his way through a sea of white tombstones until he arrived at his destination. The Boss. The feel of her cold gun against his hands was something he would never forget.

The White Star of Bethlehem stood perfectly next to it, giving her all the radiance and memory her deceased soul needed. No one would ever know what she did, no one would believe the truth. EVA's voice echoed in his head _She was a real hero…a true patriot._ He saluted to her, one final time. One of the last farewells that he would never let slip from his mind. At that moment everything in the world felt numb - except for the cold tears streaming from him eye.

 _"In Memory of a Patriot_

 _Who Saved the World."_


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise!**

 **Author's Note: YOU GUYS. I DON'T KNOW WHY I'M IN SUCH A GREAT MOOD THIS WEEK. I guess I just love you guys and your reviews, and that makes me want to update more! :D Woo! Now, this chapter (I think), ends on an awkward note. It's one of those necessary transition chapters, so I wanted to make it it's own entity rather than pin it to the next chapter. So I'm going to post ANOTHER ONE right after this. There would be too much going on in one chapter if I did that, so I think splitting it up was a great idea. But officially, we are on the way to PEACE WALKER 3 Which is my favorite MGS game, EVAH. I've played it inside and out so be ready for a lot of craziness that is going to pop out of left field. Hope you enjoy! :3**

 **Because you guys are so good, I wanted to update you guys on something else. Kind of a bonus...if you will. Right now, I am about to enter into GZ! And I DO have plans to cover the entire series. So if you guys are willing to stick with me for that long, go for it. I love you forever anyway. Think of BB's arc as Part One while SS's arc is Part Two :) I thought you may enjoy the 'insider' look cuz you guys deserve a good 'ol update!**

 **And for the love of god, the abomination...SURVIVE...will not be making an appearance. I can just see it now. "In the distance, and giant WORMHOLE APPEARED." *que random pokemon battle music* *facepalm***

 **Aleyuma98:** Thanks for your review! :D I'm really glad your enjoying it! Sooooo about your questions. I'm so happy you are curious! The answers to those are deep within Spoiler City Territory and those gates are shut TIGHT. If I were to say anything, that would give away too much about Lydia's story :)

 **CaptainMc** : Hallucinating?! IT'S REAL *gasp!* xD Well thank you, thank you *bows*. The temporary fate of Lydalot is in this chapter, too! I'm really happy you're enjoying the story; there's much more to come! Don't let go of your seat just yet, I don't want you to fall off xD

 **Guest K** : Personally, I hate Zero. He's a dick. It was really Johnson/Zero that made the final decision to have her kicked out...which happened to fit perfectly with Zero's secret agenda. She just knew too much that he had access LOT of contacts (she really only knew about Ocelot...but one would assume he had more) that wouldn't sit well if his superiors figured it out. I was so happy when I typed "Well fuck you too, Major." (or whatever the hell I wrote lol). I took a deep breath and was like "yus, you go Lydia. You. Go." xD

 **Update:**

 **MATURE CONTENT WARNING! (SORRY I FORGOT TO ADD!):** Torture.

* * *

 **"I've got to ride like the wind,**

 **To be free again.**

 **And I've got such a long way to go,**

 **To make it to the border of Mexico.**

 **So I'll ride like the wind,**

 **Ride like the wind."**

 **-Christopher Cross**

* * *

It didn't take Lydia long to pack - she didn't have a lot to her name except for a few pairs of business clothes, a toothbrush, shampoo, and toothpaste that were left behind at Central Command. Upon almost walking out of the small, cheap hotel there were three knocks on the door. It was clear past the hotel's check-out time, but hell, the CIA was pretty much paying for her to be there. "I know, I know. I'm on my way out." When Lydia opened the door, she was greeted by a police officer who instantly offered to take her bag. "Oh…thank you?" She handed her case to the officer and continued to guide her out of the vicinity. Once outside, there were four more police officers and two Ford police vehicles. The officer walked to the trunk of the nearest car, opened it and threw her bag inside.

"You have your passport?"

"Yep."

"Good." He opened the back door, allowing her to go in and sit down. From the looks of it, he's arrested a lot of people with how beat-up the back seats were. She crawled into the car and without another moment they were en route to the airport.

On arrival, a small, dinky jet awaited their presence. "I'm taking that out to the North Atlantic?"

"Yes ma'am." The officer got out of the car and opened the door for her.

"You sure are nice to someone that's about to be deported."

"I'm just doing my job ma'am. Unless you prefer mean cops, I can quickly change that."

"Nope. No, I'm good." He handed her the bag and motioned her to get onto the jet. "Thanks for the lift." Without saying another word, the officer was back into his car and driving away.

"Come on up." An old guy with stark white hair and a thick mustache appeared from the plane entrance. He waved her to come in the plane and have a seat.

"On my way." She acknowledged, walking into the steel trap. The inside wasn't too bad, it was small but had eight seats for transportation.

"Alright, have a seat. You're the only one I'm taking out today."

"Wait…you do this often?"

"Ha, on a weekly basis!" He joked. "You're the first woman I've had in a while!" Lydia rolled her eyes.

"Gee thanks. Let's just get out of this ass-backwards country."

"Safety talk first." He pointed his index finger up to the roof. She took a seat in the front isle chair. "Go ahead and buckle the seat-belt." Having to ride in a few planes in her lifetime, she did what she was told. "Ok, so we have two exits, you're sitting next to one and then there's one behind you on the wing. If we happen to be in a situation where an oxygen mask is required, one will fall to your disposal. Simply put it over your head and breath. Your life jacket is located under your seat just in case if we land in water - then from there you swim to the closest land." Lydia chuckled at his last comment.

"Thanks." She nodded.

"Alright, we're off."

"Oh…" The pilot didn't have a door; his controls and nose-window were visible to her…making her feel a little more safe. "Where are we going anyway?"

"Well, if you want to choose somewhere past the North Atlantic I have to stop somewhere in Europe to fill up."

"You're letting me CHOOSE?"

"Since you're not an immigrant, there's no where I'm obliged to take you. The CIA branded you a 'Special Deport'. Something I've never seen before to be honest. So whatever country you pick, you will be given a new passport upon entry. The only country that's off limits is Russia."

"Hmmm alright…uhhhh…." She placed her hand on her chin taking a comical thinking pose. "Spanish _seems_ like it's an easy language to learn…let's head to South America."

"Ok…where to in South America?" The pilot sat in his chair, turning over the plane's massive engine.

"Ummm…" _God what do you love?_ "How about Colombia?"

"Columbia? How specific." The plane started to move.

"Awh man, they only have the best coffee!" She remembered her first taste of the rich and bold blend.

"Ahhh, coffee buff, huh?"

"Heh, how'd you know?" She joked at her own enthusiasm.

"You know, Colombia isn't _that_ safe of a place. But whatever floats your boat!"

"Ehhh life's about living on your toes, right?"

" _Not_ right. I'm old and I never live on my toes. I like my feet firmly planted on the ground thank you very much."

"So says the pilot." The pilot couldn't help but laugh and then hack right afterwords.

"Alright old man, let's just get there safely!" Lydia sat back as comfortably as she could as the plane took off a few minutes later. About an hour of the calming flight, she couldn't help but fall asleep to the humming of the plane.

* * *

 _"Hey Carlsbad!" An Ocelot soldier caught her attention while they were training._

 _"What's up?" She still hadn't gotten used to everyone's names. With all their uniforms, they really blended in together._

 _"You wanna go a round? I see you kick every one's ass and I would like a taste of that!"_

 _"What? Does it turn you on or something?" She shrugged in a joking way._

 _"No ma'am!" She could see the blush come through his black mask._

 _"I'm busting your balls." She laughed, waving her hands. "Alright, you're on!" Taking a fighting stance, the Ocelot came charging at her…very ungraceful. She almost laughed at his form. Getting closer, she grabbed onto his right forearm and kicked him in the left knee so he fell to the ground. She twisted his arm behind his back and waited for him to give up…which he did immediately._

 _"OW!" She let go of his arm._

 _"You brought it upon yourself!" She laughed._

 _"One of these days, someone will beat you!" He pointed at her accusingly before walking to the other Ocelots who seemed to back away from her through the duration of the short fight. Lydia raised her eyebrow and waved to the group._

 _"Hey! Aren't you guys forgetting someone?!" She waved to catch their attention. All of them surprisingly swiftly looked at her and backed away a few more feet…almost in complete uniform. Lydia sighed. "Fine." She rolled her eyes. Someone grabbed her arms from behind, it wasn't harsh, it was soft. The force of the person's grip turned her around to reveal it was Adam. "Oh, hey." He let go of her arms._

 _"What are you doing?" He sighed._

 _"Oh, just keeping myself busy." She shrugged. "By the way Ocelot, your guys need a lot more training with close qua-"_

 _"Shut up." The surprising, condescending tone slithered off his tongue. "What do YOU know? You're only a woman." The moment she blinked in confusion she was tied up; and in nothing but her bra and panties in the dull prison cell, hanging from her arms once more. In front of her stood Adam, twirling a knife in his right hand. Behind him was Volgen. "You're going to tell me everything. With each question you don't answer I'm cutting something." He stepped closer._

 _"Ocelot, what the fuck?" She questioned frantically trying to get free of the restraints._

 _"What the fuck, eh?" He brought the knife under the middle of her bra, slicing it in two. In the corner of the room, she could hear Volgen snicker._

 _"Ocelot, no. What are you doing?" Lydia almost chocked out._

 _"I'm the one asking questions here." He pointed the end of the knife to the middle of her neck. "Are you a virgin?"_

 _"What?" With that, he sliced quickly and horizontally across her hanging arm, letting the blood drip onto her head that would eventually stream onto her face._

 _"Just fuck her already, I'm getting bored." Volgen sounded off. Ocelot turned to him, holding out his hands._

 _"All in due time, I want to see her hurt, then take that all away. She has feelings for me, you know?"_

 _"Adam!" Lydia yelled his name, instantly making him turn around and hit her across the right cheek._

 _"You want to yell my name? I'll give you something to yell about." Lydia glared into his cold eyes, almost in tears._

 _"Do it." Lydia dared. "I'm not going to tell you shit." She spat in his face. "I have nothing to lose, remember?" His only response was the cold metal splitting her throat._

* * *

A jolt of turbulence woke her up from the hellish nightmare. She was instantly brought back to the lightning storm when the plane shook again. "Are we ok?!" She yelled up, holding her temples, trying to control her breathing.

"Yes! Just some turbulence! We're flying over some mountains!"

"Ahhhhh." Lydia groaned. "Klein, jump on four." She whispered to herself as the memory replayed through her head. Tears welled in her eyes. "Jump on four." She choked back the tears, trying her best not to let them spill. Lydia leaned over the seat next to her and opened the small window cover, confirming that they weren't in a storm. Letting out a sigh of relief, she relaxed back in her chair.

"Just to let you know we made it past North American soil! You are officially in South America! We have about two hours to go!" Lydia nodded to herself and stared at the white ceiling for the duration of the flight, trying not to resurface any more horrible memories.

Two more hours had passed until they landed safely in the Bogotá international airport. "Welcome to Bogotá. There are two government officers here to escort you to their immigration office. Good luck out there, kid." _Kid…_ That one word just made her think of Jack. How he would never know where she was. It was time to start a new life all on her own. The pilot opened the plane's main door. Lydia descended the stairs and to the two soldiers that awaited her presence.

"Hola." One of them said.

"Hola." She repeated the greeting. "Uhhh, no hablo Español." She wanted to get that out of the way before they started talking to her in a language she wasn't familiar with.

"Oh you will one of these days. Full emersion is the best way to learn a language." He pointed in the air.

"Welcome to Colombia." Said the other soldier. "Immigrations is this way." Lydia followed the two men into the large airport and was escorted to the immigrations office.

"Alright." Said a smaller male behind a mahogany desk. He had a very thick Spanish accent. "Upon request of the US, I need to shred your Passport and issue you a new one. The CIA has paid for it and has left some money for you to travel where you need to go." Lydia pulled her passport out of her bag and handed it to the man. He instantly tore it into pieces, making sure to get all the personal information. "Here is your new passport, we copied your photo from the last." He handed her the new passport. She opened it and took a look…everything seemed to be in order. She placed it back in her bag then was greeted by a white envelope being slid across the table in a bribe fashion. "This is yours. Have fun out there."

"Gracias." She nodded her head, placed the money in her bag, and walked out of the room. "Alright first things first…Coffee."

It's amazing how she ended up thinking about coffee first, but major priorities were to follow. Lydia arrived during the most inopportune time. A period of unrest was among the people of Colombia. A few months prior to her arrival, there was an attack on a community by the name of Marquetalia that drew the line for the Colombian government. It was a civil war against the conservatives and liberals of the National Front. The violent and frequent raids on small villages and some major ones caused the formation of the People's Army - The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and the National Liberation Army. These two forces, just like any other government-backed armed militia, were in charge of keeping the peace and watching for any type of suspicious activity that could cause a guerrilla conflict.

Within a month, Lydia travelled to the coastal city of Cartagena. Besides it's large prostitution ring, Cartagena was a comfortable, colorful city with a wide variety of citizens. She rented out a small apartment near the beautiful coast. Lydia nailed a job at a small coffee shop titled "Café de Madre Tierra" on the Islas del Rosario. Coffee was a large part of Colombia's economy and there was no doubt with the business Café de Madre Tierra brought in. The location, near the beach, attracted customers of all ages and nationalities. During her time with the small café she placed the rest of her money aside for emergencies and lived off the small income. Although the young store owners, Romano and Julia Fernandez, were bilingual in Spanish and English, Lydia started to pick up Spanish real fast, turns out emersion _is_ the best way to learn a language. Every now and then Julia would take it upon herself to give Lydia lessons to hone her skills in the beautiful language.

Months had passed and multiple government job opportunities in the form of soldiers would stop by the coffee shop every now and then. It seemed her reputation even followed her to Colombia. Bribes from both armies were on occasion, but each time she refused they seemed get the hint for the most part. There was only one person that could convince her to join any type of army - and he had no idea where she was…nobody did…and that was the way she wanted it. Romano was so fed up with seeing the soldiers he yelled expletives in Spanish and demanded they stop asking her to join. It felt good to belong somewhere! Being deported from the States was the best thing that had happened to her since the day she met Jack.

Slowly, Lydia started to push aside the events in Russia, accepting the fact she would never see Adam again. The probability was too vast and it was time she moved on. The scars left behind on her body were looked at with triumph rather than sadness. She was safe for once…if the civil war didn't come to the city that is. Over the next few months, Lydia had become fluent in Spanish to the best of her ability.

March 18, 1965. Her first, nineteenth, birthday in Cartagena rolled by and was celebrated with Romano closing the store for the day. The regulars of the café stopped by to deliver multiple gifts and comical marriage proposals. The memories she made in that small coffee shop with the owners was something she had always wanted. But there was something that itched at her insides…the taste of a mission…the feeling of solving a cipher. At this point she sometimes she wished that Jack would come out of no where, buy a cup of black coffee and ask her to join a private force he put together.

It wasn't until April of 1967 where Lydia, at the age of twenty-one, would have her first date. Paolo Sanchez, a dainty man with dark hair and eyes that complimented a scruffy face. He had been a regular in the café for a while and always pressured her into going out with him - after enough pestering, she finally gave in. To her surprise, he wasn't too bad and was a tad romantic…but not her type. After breaking his little heart, he still came by the café, but this time as a friend rather than a dreamer.

Five more years had passed in the blink of an eye, political violence was on the rise, but the coffee business was still booming. Romano and Julia had become more of a family rather than friends. More buildings were being constructed in the area that attracted all kinds of foreigners and Colombians. With the growing business, Romano had hired two more people, one of them being Paolo - which made the work-load a lot easier for everyone.

Everything had seemed so peaceful. Time had flown like a river, giving Lydia the peace she had needed for so long.


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise!**

 **Author's Note: I used some Spanish in here. I am NOT fluent in the language, so I went to Google Translate to make it as accurate as I could. If you DO speak Spanish, you can send me a PM with the proper dialogue so I can change it :) I have the translations of long phrases in parenthesis directly after the statement. Example: (words words and more words). This chapter is short (like I said in the previous chapter, I split it in two cuz there would be TOO much going on). Anyway, here it is! Hope you enjoy! :3**

* * *

 **"So tell me what I see,**

 **When I look in your eyes.**

 **Is that you baby?**

 **Or just a brilliant disguise?**

 **I want to know if it's you I don't trust,**

 **Cause I damn sure don't trust myself."**

 **-Bruce Springsteen**

* * *

The date was Thursday, October 12, 1972. It was like any other - the sun was shining bright behind a few clouds. The smell of the salty ocean was everywhere on her way to work. Small, colorful buildings were littered along the street. People were laughing, smiling…everything was perfect. After her routine bike-ride to the café Lydia was greeted with a warm welcome by Julia and Cierra, the eighteen year-old girl that was hired no too long ago. "Buenas tardes!" Lydia said, waving to the two behind the counter.

"Hola mi amiga." Julia reached her arms out for a hug, which was gladly received by Lydia. Behind the register, Lydia heard Cierra call out a greeting to a couple that waltzed in.

"Cierra, you can go ahead and take your lunch. I'll cover ya!" Lydia said, relieving Cierra from her duties and sending her on lunch break. The couple simply ordered two black, dark-roast coffees. _Simple start to a simple day._

A few hours had passed in the café; customers and some regulars came and went back to their daily activities. The clock struck six P.M. which entered the slow business hours. "Lydia." Julia approached her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "There's a rain storm coming. If you want to leave now, I think you can avoid it."

"Thanks Julia, I'll wait it out." Lydia smiled. "Thanks for thinking of me." Lydia held a thumbs up. Lydia had been caught in multiple rain storms in the past, only to be greeted with some PTSD. When that happened, Julia or Romano had been there for her every time.

"Alright, whatever you say!" She shrugged. "You can help me with the tarps then."

"Well in that case, I'll go home."

"You lazy piece of meirda." Julia laughed at Lydia's return. Lydia followed Julia outside of the small building. The sun was just sinking over the horizon and gave a soft glow to the sky. To the north, the dark clouds that took over the sky gave off a dark purple hue. If there was one thing she loved the most about Colombia, it was the sunset. The patio was empty which made it easy for them to put the plastic tarps down to protect the furniture.

"I've got this side." Lydia pointed to the right. She walked to the edge of the elevated patio and brought down the first level of tarp, hooking it to the wooden floor. Lydia secured it the best she could. Once all the tarps were down, Julia walked back inside the building, leaving the windows cracked for the free air. No matter how much lightning struck through the sky, the rain grew on Lydia and was a lot nicer to listen to, especially in rhythm with the ocean. "Julia, I'm gonna stay out here for a while. The sunset is beautiful!"

"You are such a romantic! Get a boyfriend!" She jokingly shouted back.

"Hardyharhar!" Lydia teased. Lydia walked down the patio and onto the small stone path. The café was a good quarter-mile from the beach, which still gave an amazing view of the small waves. Eight long years…she couldn't believe it. Lydia leaned against one of the wooden pillars of the cafe and smiled to herself as the waves began to pick up. In her peripheral she saw a figure approaching the cafe from her left. She stood up straight and turned to face the male walking her direction. She waved her right handing the air. "Hola señor!" Lydia shouted as the wind picked up. Her blonde hair annoyingly whipped around, making her attempt to grab onto it with her right hand.

"Si usted necesita un lugar para esperar a que past la tormenta, estamos abiertos (If you need a place to wait out the storm, we are open)!"

"Gracias!" The male called out from afar. At the sight of the man jogging up, Lydia made her way up the patio and held open the door for the man. _Gee, this guy is slow for someone who was just offered some hospitality._ The guest walked up the patio and sped by Lydia before she could get a good look at his face hidden behind a brown hood.

"Hola!" called out Julia from inside. Lydia followed him and shut the door behind her.

"Buenas noches! (Good evening!)" He greeted. "Un café negro, por favor. (Black coffee, please.)" His voice was deep and very gruff. The man took a seat at one of the wooden tables littered alone the inside of the café.

"Sí, sí!" Said Julia grabbing a mug from a cabinet.

"Popular request today." Lydia stated walking to the counter to grab the mug from Julia.

"No joke." She responded with a smile. Lydia grabbed a hold of the coffee and walked to the man who placed his hands around the edges of the fabric of his hoodie.

"Aqui tienen. (Here you go.)" Lydia placed the cup in front of him right when he slipped the hood off his head. His brown hair was long and wore a familiar black bandana across his forehead. He had a strong face and was having a _very_ good facial hair day…wait. Something was familiar. The man turned his face to meet his green eye with her's. Lydia couldn't help but have her own eyes widen with shock. All he did was let out a slightly inaudible scoff.

"Kept you waiting, huh?"

"Jack?!" It was a half-yell, half-inhale. All he did was grin his famous grin and that's when she knew. "Oh my god. Oh my GOD!" Lydia just couldn't contain herself and went for her natural instinct to give him a hug around the neck. He groaned in slight pain with how tight she was squeezing him.

"Hnnnngh alright, that's enough." She pushed herself off.

"Sorry." Tears were forming in her eyes that she was desperately trying to choke back. "Julia!" Lydia looked back at her, slightly surprised behind the counter. "This is who I was telling you about a while back!" All she could do was nod at how familiar she was acting with a male; she was obviously speechless.

"I went to your apartment when your land-lady told me you work here." He placed the cup of coffee to his lips, taking a sip of the bitter liquid. "Ahhh, there's nothing quite like Colombian coffee." Lydia pulled out the chair at the other end of the small round table and sat down. She folded her arms across the table and leaned forward.

"What are you _doing_ here?"

"I was hired by the Colombian government…and someone mentioned an American girl by the name of Lydia Matthews they've been trying to recruit for the past eight years."

"Ha! Seems longer than that." Lydia crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.

"I've been traveling around the world taking up jobs here and there. I'm surprised _this_ is where you've been all along. Having someone I trust to cover my back would be great."

"You know." Lydia leaned back in her chair. "I had told myself 'the only way I would go back to government work is if Jack showed up, ordered a black coffee and asked me to join him'. Low and freakin' behold! You're here doing the exact same thing I've been telling myself you would do for years!"

"Well, what do you say?" She couldn't believe it.

"I don't want to work for a government any more than you do. But as long as it's by your side I suppose it's tolerable."

"This mission isn't forever, I have plans after this."

"Whenever you fill me in, consider me a part of your plans." Lydia held out her right hand. "It's an honor to be by your side again."

"You too, kid." Jack extended his right hand and shook it.

"Wow." Julia vocalized from behind the table. "It's like a movie!" She laughed. "I knew you would leave one of these days Lydia, but not in the way you always told us about!"

"Gee, thanks Julia." Lydia let go of Jack's hand and looked at her.

"I see you haven't let yourself go these past eight years." He grinned.

"Of course not. I've been riding a bike to work every day and working out in my apartment." Lydia flexed her right bicep to reveal her toned muscles. "I might still be sloppy on my CQC but I've still got the fight in me."

"Hnngh, it'll come back to you fast enough."

"You guys alright with me leaving?" Lydia turned her attention to Julia who was beaming with happiness from behind the counter.

"Yes, yes! I will tell Romano and he will be just as happy as I am!" She clapped her hands together. "I'm so happy! Oh! I got it! I will make you my special laté!" She turned around and started to fumble with ingredients.

"So, where are you guys headed?" Lydia diverted her attention back to Jack.

"I'm grouped with about fifty men. We're heading south-east to Valdivia. Apparently there's a band of revolutionaries there about to start some trouble. We're planning to ambush them before they move out of Medellín and take them all out. If we keep moving at our pace, we'll make it there in five days."

"You guys are _walking_?"

"Yeah. You got a problem with that?" He raised his eyebrow. Julia only laughed as she placed a mug in front of Lydia. The aroma coming from the cup was unknown…but it smelt amazing.

"No. Heh, It's just so _you_." She took the sip of the glorious concoction that was placed in front of her. "Julia you're gonna make me not want to leave with this coffee."

"Is it working?" Julia joked.

"Ehhhhh maybe with like four more." Lydia looked at Jack. "You told me that having patience to stick with someone through a great physical trial like that was a good way of finding committed soldiers. I guess you haven't given up on your morals one bit." She wanted to bring up Russia, The Boss, Adam, the things they both went through. She wanted some type of closure to why he wasn't with the Major anymore…or even in America for that matter. That was a conversation for another day and a tad too inappropriate to have in front of a stranger like Julia. Hell, he probably didn't think Lydia was the same person either. Eight years can change somebody, but just like that…it seemed old friendships could mend over just as quick. "Is this all you've been doing these eight years…just…making coffee?"

"Pretty much. Business is great and with every year that passes the city just grows larger. We get more tourists and all kinds of people. It kept me busy this whole time - it didn't feel like I was even at work. Trust me, Jack. Moving here was the best thing I've done since train under you."

"That's a lot of time between those events."

"And I mean it. Even though you are my mentor, you are kind of like a father to me. Of course I would drop a hat to work with you again. Who gets that opportunity twice? I'm just lucky."

"Hnnng it looks like you forgot." Lydia raised an eyebrow and took another sip of the hot coffee. "There's no such thing as luck-"

"-on the battlefield. Well in that case, it's one hell of a coincidence if this is a battlefield." All Jack could do was classically snicker. "We sure do have a lot to catch up on."

"We'll talk but not here."

"Wouldn't have it any other way."


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise!**

 **Author's Note: Hello everyone! :) If you ever have any questions about release dates, check out my profile! I have the "next anticipated" release date if you're ever curious! Here is the next chapter; I'm kinda in love with it 3 I hope you enjoy! :3**

 **CaptainMc** : Just as Elvis said, "If you're looking for trouble you came to the right place"! (That actually gives me an idea!) xD I think Lydia needed some type of hiatus to grow tf up (finally, god lol). This light brewed coffee is about to get BOLD.

 **GuestK:** OH MY LANTA HA! I died. At your opener...I just lmao x'D After a good 'ol vacation(esque) break, it's back to her cleaning shop! Immature Lydia was driving me bonkers, and FINALLY SHE HAS GROWN...well kinda xD

 **MATURE CONTENT WARNING: Strong Violence**

* * *

 **"If you're looking for trouble,**

 **You came to the right place.**

 **If you're looking for trouble,**

 **Just look right in my face.**

 **My daddy was a green-eyed mountain jack...**

 **So don't you mess around with me."**

 **-Elvis Presley**

* * *

Every day, Jack would lead the unit with a training session after their travels. After all these years, he hadn't let up his leadership one bit. He seemed stronger than before. Day one, she was reminded of gun-handling. Day two and three were CQC. Day four was more gun-handling. It was a rough routine…almost worse than her initial training in DC.

Passing by a few villages, Lydia was able to obtain some intel that the revolutionaries were stationed about ten miles south of Medellín. The dawn of the fifth day was fast approaching and time was running short before the enemy would make their march. In a few hours, they managed to make their way along the outer rim of Medellín and make camp twenty miles south of the city limits. "Hmmm, I think our intel was wrong." Lydia mentioned. "Snake," Jack insisted that she call him by codename; easy enough he was recycling the one from his operations in the USSR. "I'm going to go scout ahead. I have a feeling they're close by."

All he did was nod in return. Out of a pack that was wrapped around her leg, she pulled out a balaclava and slipped it on her head. Not wasting any more moments, Lydia trailed off into the thick foliage; keeping an eye out for any clues that marked the presence of the rebels. A few miles of weaving through and dodging trees and plants, Lydia heard the snapping of a twig in the distance. Immediately, she moved to the ground in a prone position, listening to her surroundings.

"I can't believe we're actually going to do it! Man, our drill sergeant sure is amazing! With him on our side we're going to overthrow the government one city at a time! Get everyone to join _and_ respect us!"

"Man, would you calm down?!" Spoke another individual. "Who knows if the government is around?!"

"What? In the middle of the forest? You're crazy." The two men were getting closer. Lydia rolled a few feet to her right and rose to her knees. They were only a few meters away with no sign of anyone else nearby. If there was a sign that read "INTERROGATE ME" it would be up and blinking in neon colors. Lydia rose to her feet and pulled out her gun the closer she made it to the two men. They were still chatting away when she was close enough to scare them. She lunged at the man on the right, grabbing him around the neck; sticking the barrel of her gun to his temple. "OH GOD!" He yelled. The partner turned around in shock, about to aim his rifle at her.

"Don't you think about it." She spoke, deepening her voice and pointing her pistol to the incapacitated man. "Drop your weapon or he dies."

"Man, I told you the government was EVERYWHERE!" The man followed her request and laid down his arms.

"Good." Lydia let go of the man she was holding and kicked the back of his knee, making him kneel to the ground. "Now…one of you is going to tell me where your camp is. Including the numbers."

"Oh come on." The individual on the ground sighed. "He's not going to shoot me." Lydia's eye twitched, the insinuation made her cock the gun.

"You want to bet on that?" At this point, he probably pissed his pants.

"OK OK!" The standing one motioned his hands to grab Lydia's attention. "We're about three miles that way." He pointed east. "W-we're held up by a small cliff! There's about a hundred of us! P-please don't kill us!"

"Was that so hard?" Lydia raised her fist and slammed the hilt of the gun into the man's noggin; making him pass out on impact. "Now _you're_ coming with me. Or do you want to be left here with your friend?"

"I just betrayed my unit…" He dazed off…obviously feeling awful for himself. "I can't go back to them…please just let me stay here with my friend." Lydia raised her eyebrow at his honestly. She walked up to him, keeping her eyes on his hands; making sure he didn't have anything up his sleeve.

"Fine." She gave in. She holstered her gun, grabbed his arm and threw him over her shoulder, slamming him against the ground. He followed suit with his friend and passed out on impact. "Alright…now I gotta mark this spot." Lydia wrapped her fingers around the hilt of her combat knife; unsheathing it from it's slumber. Walking over to a large tree, she marked a giant "X" for her discovery, followed by an arrow to the east. "There." She put her knife away and complimented herself. "That's gotta do it. Time to go get the group." Lydia retraced her tracks and found Snake getting the group ready for the battle ahead. "Snake, if we head south for about two miles, I marked a place that will lead us right to their camp."

"That's what I like to hear." Snake praised. "Well done. Men, let's move out! Iris, you take the lead."

"Yessir." She nodded and led the men through the thick trees, eventually making it to the designated area where they would start heading east to their encampment. The two men were gone, they must've high-tailed it when they had the chance. "Snake." She called out to him, slowing down. "I ran into two men, they said there were about a hundred revolutionaries."

"Hmmm, our men are capable. They can handle it."

"For sure." Lydia nodded, keeping her eyes ahead. It was midday when they reached their objective. At that moment, it was time for a plan.

"Iris, let's browse ahead. See if they have any openings." Lydia nodded and followed Jack to higher ground. They made their way to a cliff that perfectly over-looked the objective-area.

"How convenient." Lydia rolled her eyes once they perched themselves to gather some intel. The revolutionaries were a colorful bunch, that was for sure. They were heavily armed, cleaning weapons, sorting out armory, participating in training exercises…whoever was running this joint was pretty organized…but not organized enough for an ambush. "They're in a pickle, that's for sure. Being up against this cliff and all." Lydia sighed.

"Hmmm, it looks like your intel is pretty accurate. It's a large camp…more armed than I thought."

"We have some armory of our own, correct?"

"Enough to break through what they have." Snake confirmed her hopes. "You remember when I told you I had plans after this?" Lydia raised an eyebrow under her balaclava, looking at him in his soft, green eyes.

"Yeah?"

"I'm thinking about starting a P.F.. The men that are with us…I have a feeling some of them are going to want to follow me after this."

"I'm with you one-hundred percent. I can see us being the strongest force out there with _you_ as our leader."

"An army without a country…without borders. We'll be our own entity." Lydia smiled under her mask. "So when we win this, that's what we're going to do. Are you still with me?"

"Did you forget the whole conversation we had a few days ago?" Lydia joked. "You must be getting alzheimer's, old man."

"Heh, I knew it. You _still_ need in on the action."

"I can't deny, it's been something else. I've gotten my groove back for sure. Heh, it's good to be with you again, Snake." She admitted, still examining the camp. He placed his hand on her shoulder and hoisted himself up to stand.

"No matter what, it looks like we have the upper hand. A bunch of troops are no match for ones with proper training paired with a surprise." Snake took a hold of Lydia's hand and stood her up.

"Righty-oh." Lydia held a thumbs-up. They walked back into the dense forrest and rounded up the troops.

"Men! About a mile to the east is their camp. We have the element of surprise on our side; there's no doubt we will win. Remember your training! Recollect everything you went through on this journey with me. Form a barricade where they have no means to escape. We will go forth until they're all wiped out."

"YES BOSS!" Every single man saluted at his motivational speech. Lydia decided to follow suit.

"Take your formations we discussed. Make sure to set up the traps, we don't want any of them getting out. Iris, you're with me in the front-line."

"Yessir." She rested her arm, following him back to the enemy's camp.

They took their time, careful enough not to over-exert any of the soldiers' stamina. Lydia and Snake took their prospective positions on opposite sides of the camp. In her immediate surroundings, there were about twenty revolutionaries goofing around. All Lydia had to do was wait for Snake's signal.

Out of the blue, there was a single gun shot! That was the signal! "LET'S MOVE!" She shouted, signaling to the men behind her. Each and every one readied their guns and proceeded into the camp. They were all taken by surprise! The opponents closest to them had no reaction time to take any line of defense. A few minutes after the initial fire fight, the revolutionaries finally got their act together and was fighting back.

Lydia's group was taking cover behind a few rice bags, waiting for any type of opening. Lydia poked her head up from the bags and looked around, there were a few men frantically running about with no signs of weapons. She jolted up and leaped over the bags, tackling a man to the ground. She unsheathed her knife and slammed the pointy end into the ground next to the scarred man's head. "Where's your boss?!"

"Y-y-yo no sé! (I don't know!)" Lydia rolled her eyes and punched the man square in the nose, making him pass out. A bullet lightly grazed her shoulder, making her spin around to see the assailant. Once she locked eyes with him, she rolled off the individual to dodge more bullets. Poor bastard had bullets littered into his body.

"I got you Iris!" The immediate threat was shot down by one of her comrades.

"Gracias!" She called out, taking shelter in a tent. After taking a short breather, Lydia bolted out of the tent and aided her fellow soldiers in battle.

"Over there!" An enemy called out. Bullets were whistling all around her as she tried to book it to safety and out of the danger zone. She rested up along a tree to escape any immediate fire. Lydia let out a large exhale and readied her mid-range rifle.

"Here we go." Sucking in a sharp breath, she bobbed her way out of cover and shot a few men in their torsos, making them fall to the ground.

"Eat this!" A tall man jolted to Lydia at an extreme velocity.

"You asked for it!" She twisted around her gun, slamming the blunt of her rifle into the man's mouth…for sure knocking out a few teeth. The tower fell to the ground and it was on to the next threat. Ahead, a sharp, metal blur slid by Lydia's cheek, painfully tearing her skin through her balaclava. "Fuck!" She tore off the mask with her right hand and threw it to the ground. She made her way behind more rice bags, catching her breath. She reached in one of her pockets and took a hold of a rubber band to tie up her hair so it wouldn't get in the way. _Priorities._

"That was a close one!" A guy took cover next to her once she finished fiddling with her hair. "But I won't miss this time!"

"Tell me about it…wait." In her peripheral vision, a knife was making it's way to her throat. "Whoa!" She grabbed a hold of the wrist connecting to it. With a single twist, the knife fell out of his hand and into Lydia's left. She pulled his reprimanded hand down and kneed him in the stomach. The sheer force of her kick was enough to incapacitate him.

"To the right!" One of her ally's shouted. Lydia's head turned the corresponding direction along with the knife as it flew from her hand and into and enemy's shoulder that was about to shoot her. A spray of bullets exited the gun on his way to the ground, shooting some of his comrades standing around him.

"Thanks!" She called out.

"D-damn, it's an ambush." There was a deep voice coming out behind all the gunshots and chaos. Lydia looked to her left and dived to take cover behind an elongated, steel table. She poked her head over the table and saw a bloody man kneeling down next to another who was in pretty bad shape. "What should we do, Master…Master Miller!" _Master? That must be their boss!_ She looked around for Snake, who was no where in sight.

"Uhh…umm…" He was shaking in his boots. His face was hidden behind a balaclava so he looked like all the others, but the one thing that stood out was a yellow ascot he wore around his neck.

"Master!" He was taken out of his daze.

"Split up." He decided. "You come with me." Before Lydia could manage to overhear anything else, she was taken by the throat and thrown to the side.

"Dammit!" Shaking it off, she quickly retaliated by getting up on her feet. The opponent that stood before her was a bald male who had deep scars all over his face - reminding her of a certain _someone_ from her past.

"I'm going to enjoy beating you up." She snickered, spitting out some blood that flowed into her mouth from her cheek wound.

"R-run! This way!" The Master shouted from behind her. _Dammit, if I don't stop him he's going to get away and just start up a brand new uprising!_ Lydia looked over her shoulder to see the man taking off to the west of the camp.

"I'm surprised you won't look at me, bitch." Volgen flashed in her mind, making Lydia's brain hurt. Lydia snapped her head in his direction, ready for a fight.

"You're going to be a well-deserved notch on my belt!" Lydia pulled out her pistol from her right holster and shot the brute in the right knee-cap, making him kneel down violently. But to no avail, he got right back up and charged at her. He threw his giant fist at her face, which she easily dodged. "Did your mom ever tell you to take on someone your own size?" She uppercutted the man in the jaw for the return. "The smaller guy just may get the upper hand." She grinned.

"No girl can kill me!"

"Awh, you hurt my feewings." She taunted. "Come on tough guy." She reholstered her gun and held up her fists. To her surprise, the man pulled out a machete from his belt. "Alright. Gimme what you got." The beast lunged forward and took a swing right at her core. Lydia ducked but was rammed to the ground. "Ow!" She hit the ground hard. Her eyes widened once she saw the machete coming down on her like a guillotine. "Shit!" She brought up her leg, making the blade collide with her thick, combat boot. It barely touched her skin! _Sweet lord, thank you SHOES!_ She honestly felt like laughing. The brute stopped in confusion and pulled the sword out of her boot, taking another swing at her body. Lydia barrel-rolled to the right, then back-rolled into a standing position. A few meters away, she saw Snake in her peripherals taking someone out with a classic move. _Damn, he's good!_

"Let me tell you, what's coming next is gonna to hurt _really_ bad!" Lydia called out, lunging for her enemy. She caught him off guard, he must have expected her to stay on the defensive. Lydia dodged her way out of his immediate sight and was able to get him in a choke-hold from behind. "Take this!" Lydia took the knife from her belt and slit the man's throat. He dropped to the ground, instantly deceased. "Snake!" A few bullets whirred by her, making her take cover behind the nearest tree. Explosions started to go off as the booby traps around the camp were triggered.

"W-WAIT! W-we surrender!" Shouted a random guy from within the camp.

"Cease fire!" Snake called out to the unit.

"Cease fire!" Lydia and others called out to make the message heard.

"We surrender!" Once one enemy dropped their weapons, so did the others. It must've been the sounds of the traps that shook them. The moment the final gun hit the ground, the militants opened fire on the rebels. Lydia flinched from the brutality then stood up from her cover and made it to Snake.

"We did it." She sighed with relief.

"Men, start taking up the traps. We're done here." Snake ordered.

"Snake, their leader. He was running to the west the last time I saw him. There's no doubt he triggered a bomb."

"Good, can you identify?"

"Yessir." Lydia started leading him through the woods, looking around at all the deceased and injured men sprawled out on the forrest's surface.

"Boss! Give us your order!" About a dozen men made their way into their line of sight, standing in attention.

"CASEVAC the wounded." Snake responded. "Seize as many weapons as we can carry. Line up the bodies by the road and cover them with a tarp." Lydia looked around and saw the familiar commander of the group badly wounded from a trap's explosion. He was resting up against a decayed tree, trying his best to stay conscious. He was no longer hiding behind his mask. His blond hair was blood and soil-stained, hiding his facial features. From the looks of his beaten body, it didn't look like he was a threat.

"Snake." She nudged his arm, catching his attention. "That's him. That's their leader." Snake turned around to face the man that was a few meters away.

"OK, you, commander!" Snake addressed the stranger. "Drop your weapons! Hands on your head!" Lydia followed Snake as they began to make their way to him. "Hablas inglés?" He questioned, only a few feet in front of the commander. He had looked up with extremely bright blue eyes.

"Afraid I…"

"Speak up!" Snake cut off his silence. Lydia just stared at the man as he slouched his head and decided to emit more volume.

"Afraid I can't lift my hands."

"Hmph." Snake bellowed. "Don't be stupid, commander. Your men are all dead." _Way to tell it like it is, Snake_ _._ Lydia glanced at Snake then back to the wounded man.

"I-I…" He paused and weakly bobbled his head up to gaze at Snake. "I came here from Japan."

"What?" Lydia could spot his Asian features now that he pointed out his origin. Strange, most Asians aren't born with platinum blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Poor guy must've been made fun of a lot when he was a kid...but that's besides the point. One of a kind.

"I chose to come here!" He spoke intensely, with more spirit behind his voice. "Came b-because my place…my place is on the battlefield!" Lydia caught the commander's right hand twitch from the corner of her eye, instantly making her on her guard.

"All right, all right - now let me see your hands." The blonde was fiddling with something…He took in deep breaths, taking some time to find out what else to say. Lydia didn't take her eyes of his right hand. Was Snake seeing this? Surely he was...

"Be my kaishaku."

"…Your _what_?" Snake crossed his arms at the term.

"Seppuku… Hara-kiri." _Does he want to commit suicide? Is this guy some kind of samurai or something?_ Lydia was slightly unimpressed at the fact he wanted to take his own life. It was surprising to hear that some people kept up those principles. "I'm a samurai. I disembowel myself." _Amazing_. Snake and Lydia turned their heads to share an equal gaze of either confusion or impression then look back at the man. "When I do, you cut off my head. That's being a kaishaku. From behind, it's a clean cut from below the medulla. Just stop before you get clean through. That way my head stays attached - I don't want it left for the birds." _Is this guy…bonkers? He DID lose a lot of blood…_

"Snake…the fuck?" Lydia whispered, almost in disbelief at the man's request. Snake let out a rough exhale…in slight confusion of what he was hearing.

"Can't handle that?" The commander shot at Snake.

"Heh." Snake let out a laugh. He held out his hand to Lydia, not breaking his gaze from the enemy. "…Machete." Lydia looked down at his hand then up at Snake's face. _Really? I never thought…_ She felt a tad disappointed…but if this is how a warrior in the commander's mind goes out, then so be it. Snake would fulfill his wish. Lydia turned to another soldier who happened to have a machete on-hand, and motioned him to approach. He jogged up to Lydia and saluted.

"Ma'am!"

"Machete, please." She held out her hand in a similar fashion to Snake.

"Here you go." He unlatched it from his side and placed the handle into her hand. Lydia turned and passed it on to Snake, who took it without hesitation. Her eyes turned back to the commander, who was still fiddling with something in his right hand. She narrowed her eyes, trying to get a better look.

"Don't worry…" He started. Once Snake took his first step, she could see his fingers wrap around something that was positioned behind his back. "It'll be over soon…" Lydia turned her head to Snake who hadn't noticed yet. "…Goodbye!" At the jolt of his right arm, the commander pulled out a grenade!

"Snake! Grenade! Move!" Lydia shouted, pushing him out of severe blast range. The commander snickered, bringing up his left arm to pull the pin. Lydia lunged to the enemy, sliding down on her knees in front of him right when he was reaching to pull the pin. She swiftly brought both of her hands up and sandwiched the grenade between their grips.

"What?!" She squeezed tighter, causing him a high amount of discomfort. Her green eyes peered into his blues, filled with rage that he would try something so _dirty_!

"C-Can't go off if you don't pull the pin." She couldn't help but grin. He started to struggle to try and get his hand free by using his free left. It was no use, he was growing weaker from the blood-loss and her grip had the advantage.

"Let go…" He cursed through his teeth, not breaking eye contact.

"Iris!" She could tell Snake wanted to jump in.

"Stay back, Snake! This thing could still go off, and you're _not_ dying today!" She narrowed her eyes at the commander. "Last-ditch kamikaze, huh? You coward." She insulted. With her left hand, she was able to slide it to his wrist and give it a good twist to have the grenade fall right out of his hand like butter. The explosive was transferred into her right hand at the loss of the commander's grip. Once she had a good hold on the grenade, she pushed the commander back, hard into the tree, with her left hand to keep him from taking it back. The CQC combo had confused him, that's for sure. Lydia stood up and faced Snake, who looked fairly impressed with her display. _Learned from the best._ He thanked her by nodding in her direction; Lydia returned the gesture by nodding back.

"I'll…" The commander started back up. Sounding a lot more frustrated. "We'll never lose again…The Japanese will never lose again. We'll do…" He shifted his torso, wanting to stand up and start a fight, now that his only means of winning was ripped away from him. "We'll do whatever it takes! But we'll never…be beaten again!" He started to slump over from fatigue. "Ne…ver…" The commander fell to the side, crashing on the foliage below him.

"Snake…" Lydia turned her attention from the man to her boss. "What do you wanna do?"

"Let's evacuate him with the rest. I have a feeling there's more to this _samurai_." Lydia nodded. "He appeared to be a coward…but in the end he fought with everything he had." Snake continued. "Even in the face of death, he still wanted to pick a fight…even when he knew he was going to die." Behind his scruff, Snake held a small smile at the commander's will. "That's the mark of a true warrior. Don't you forget that, Iris." Lydia stuffed the grenade into her artillery pocket and glanced back at the unconscious leader. A soldier jogged up to the blonde and picked him up; readying him for the journey back to a military outpost to the north.


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise!**

 **Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who subscribed (and/or stopped by to take a peek) for this story! (Ahhhh what is grammar right now?) lol. Here is the next chapter; I hope you enjoy! :3**

 **Guest K:** I'm glad you enjoyed the action! :D Those are personally some of my favorite scenes to write! Miller is one of my favs, so I'm glad I did him justice :) Thank you again for the review even 18 chapters later! My appreciation knows no bounds!

 **CaptainMc:** Thank you very much :) I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the last :)

 **MATURE CONTENT WARNING:** Mentions of Torture

* * *

 **"Now wicked things can happen you see 'em going down in war,**

 **But when you play in a quiet way that bites it even more."**

 **-Hall & Oates**

* * *

Hours upon hours of walking after the massive battle had passed before they reached a government-provided, makeshift outpost. Doctors were running around everywhere, making sure every military official was attended to in a timely manner. The commander of the small army was placed in a private tent in time to save his life.

"That was some stunt you pulled back there." Lydia was sitting by a small barrel-contained fire. Her attention turned to Snake who had crept up to her right side while he spoke.

"I'm the one that was surprised you didn't notice him fidgeting his right hand." She shrugged. "Besides, right then, your life took priority over mine." He placed his hand on her shoulder and gave it a soft squeeze before sitting down next to her.

"Coffee?" Lydia inhaled through her nose and rolled her eyes to meet a cup of black coffee in front of her face.

"Yes please." She smiled, taking the small cup from his hands. She took a sip of the strong, tasty beverage. "So…we took out the guerrilla forces…now what?" She looked back to Snake. "We look for a new job?"

"My contract with the army actually ends tonight. Colombia is filled with side jobs…but I think we should focus on our own private force in the meantime. Not to mention, I think with enough persuasion…that C _ommander_ will join us."

"The Commander? Snake…are you sure about that? With everything he's lost? I'd be surprised if he even gives you the light of day." Lydia took another sip of her coffee.

"It's not about gain and loss, or victory and defeat. Back in the forest, I looked at the way he lived his life and saw the path I needed to take. This time, as a warrior. I realized that the battlefield doesn't only divide people into allies and enemies. Sometimes it tells you more than who's who." Lydia turned her head and looked at Snake in his eye. "Sometimes…it helps reveal your true comrades." She couldn't help but solemnly smile and glance into the fire.

"Whatever you say, Snake. If you trust him, then I suppose I can too." She took another sip of the bitter drink. "I'm only glad to be a part of this."

"When we have everything put together…I want you involved in the field sometimes." Her head snapped to him. "Watching you fight and communicate with the enemy and our allies…you've grown up, Lydia. You're not that same as you were before. When I'm not available, I want you to take care of anything that comes our way. I'm still thinking of the title you'll play in our new force."

"It felt good to be back in action, that's for sure." She smiled, involuntarily brushing the rim of the cup with her thumb. "Wherever you need me, Snake. I'll do it for you. I mean…I'm twenty-six years old now…it's time I did something with my life that's worth while."

"That's my girl." He shot her a stupid smile under his scruff.

"Well I'm going to go visit some of the guys. See if they need anything." Lydia stood up and took another sip from the cup. "I'll see you soon."

Snake nodded at her once she walked off. _Back in the field on solo missions, huh? Only this time in better circumstances._ Lydia waltzed by a dozen generators hooked up to a multitude of tents. Bypassing one, she couldn't help but see the commander hooked up to a blood supply and a multitude of other tubes. "Hmm." She walked to the opening and peeked inside, spotting the doctor clearing up everything. "Hola." She greeted. "May I come in?"

"Sí, sí!" He spoke up, placing some tools into a bag.

"He's a tough one, huh?" She asked the doctor when walking up to the commander's bed side. The doctor didn't say anything and just left the tent. "Oooooooooooook." Her eyes travelled from the commander's feet, to his bandaged chest, then to his clean, patched-up face. His eyebrows were furrowed like he was having some type of dream. "You don't _look_ too bad. Maybe Snake is right."

"How is he?" Speak of the devil and the devil walks in.

"Snake." She greeted, not turning away from the unconscious man. "His vitals sound normal, so that must mean he's alright."

"Good, I'm making up my plan." Outside, they heard a three loud consecutive gunshots. Lydia raised her eyebrow and looked at Snake who wasn't phased at all.

"What was that?" She questioned about the noise.

"The Colombian military carries out executions to traitors all the time. They don't care who sees."

"Oh…gnarly." Lydia frowned, taking another look at the commander.

"That actually makes me think of something. Lydia, I need you to do me a favor." Snake started. "I need you to go to the nearest town and buy some diapers."

"…" Lydia wanted to fall over at the request. "What?" She almost busted a gut.

"And a small gift-bag."

"Sure…I mean…what for? You expecting a baby?" She covered her mouth, trying her best to keep a straight face.

"Nah, like I said, I just got an idea…that's all." He reached into his pocket and grabbed a few dollars out. "Here." Lydia reached forward and took the money. "Don't be gone long, we have no idea when he's going to wake up."

"You got it." Lydia nodded. She wanted to know what he had up his sleeve…diapers? Really? She exited the tent and waved down a random soldier patrolling by. "Hola!" She greeted. "Where it the nearest town?"

"Go out on the road and follow it south for about ten-ish miles. Did you need a ride, young lady?" He questioned.

"That would be great!" She nodded. "Thank you!"

"Follow me." He nodded his head to a four-wheeler that was stationed by the camp's outskirts. "Where are we going?" He hopped on and turned over the engine. Lydia moved into the passenger's seat.

"Just the first convenience store you see."

"You got it." They drove for about half an hour before they reached a drug store.

"I'll be right back…oh…did you want anything?"

"Don't tell anyone…but a Cola would be nice." He responded, holding a thumbs-up.

"Got cha." She hoped out of the vehicle and walked into the store. She was able to find adult diapers, and a small, tacky, pink bag. At the check-out counter, she asked for two Colas and paid the balance. Once she walked out, the driver turned on the engine again; revving it up the closer she got. "Here you go." She tossed the glass bottle to him, which his happily caught. He twisted off the metal cap with ease and took a sip.

"Man, did that hit the spot!" After backing out from the store, they began their journey back. Both of them enjoying the nice taste of Cola before getting back to business.

When they returned, Lydia tracked down Jack whom was still in the tent. "It's good he didn't wake up in that hour time-frame." She giggled, handing him his requested items. He glanced them over and smiled up at her.

"These are perfect."

"So what are you going to do? Scare the shit out of him?"

" _Maybe_." He placed the diaper in the bag and stuffed the rest of the space with tissue.

"Man, you just suck the fun out of everything." She sighed. "I'm gonna catch some Z's. See you in the morning." She bid him farewell and was off to find some type of peace and quiet.

* * *

 **The Next Afternoon, October 18, 1972.**

Lydia entered the commander's tent. While she had been out, Snake had found more information on the unconscious man. "His name is Kazuhira Miller. After I figured out his name, I had some guys do extensive research on him. I got some really good intel before my status expired."

"Kazuhira, huh? Well, it's nice to know you still know your way through the system, Snake."

"I've got enough ammo to scare him. Now it's just the waiting game."

"Hey, why don't you come out and talk with me for a bit? I want to catch up." Lydia smiled. "It's been years and we've barely had the chance to tell each other anything worth-while!"

"Sounds great." Snake moved from his position by Kazuhira's bed and followed Lydia out. "So, did you always work in that coffee shop?"

"First job I got." She smiled at the memory. "Romano and Julia, the owners, were so kind to take me in and teach me Spanish. They were my go-to for anything around the area. What about you? Did you come straight to Colombia?"

"I left the US not long after Operation Snake Eater. I travelled around, taking odd jobs and soon found myself here. I've been contracted with the Colombian government for a while now."

"Is that right?" She nodded. "Did you ever find a girlfriend?"

"Did _you_ ever find a boyfriend?"

"Ha! There were a few, but none of them were my type. We really only went out for shits and giggles." A few meters away, another execution was taking place, this time with five POWs lined up. "Well…good idea _Lydia_. Let's talk about life and watch others end right in front of us."

"Heh, we'll catch up some other time, kid. I want to hear all about your time before I found you."

"Alright then, some other time." She agreed. In her peripherals, she witnessed Kazuhira stirring up from his slumber. "Snake. It looks like he's waking up." She nodded toward the tent.

"You're more than welcome to be a part of it." He motioned for her to follow him.

"I don't know what you're planning, but I'm not going to throw that opportunity out the window." She followed him close to the tent, overhearing Kazuhira talking to himself. It was time to see Snake at work…finally.

"A field hospital?" He looked around the vicinity. "No…a tent?" Snake and Lydia made their way into view.

"You're in a makeshift camp set up by the government." Snake cut Kazuhira off, catching his immediate attention. He looked from Lydia to Snake with a hint of panic under his breath; not sure if they were going to attack him. "Hmph, you look better than I expected." After a day, his face was healing up nicely. The majority of his bandages were taken off and the deep wounds had been taken care of every hour or so while he was asleep. The closer Snake got to the bed, Kazuhira's heart-rate kicked up. Kazuhira attempted to move backwards, but realized he was confined in a bed with nowhere to go.

"Don't try to move." Lydia spoke up, saving him from reopening any of his wounds. Kazuhira made eye contact with her then back at Snake.

"The place is a sauna during the day, but with your injuries, you'll have to bear it." Snake continued.

Kazuhira rolled his eyes. "Get lost."

"After we're done talking." Snake immediately spoke after Kazuhira's statement. "I'm unarmed." He reached his hands into his pockets. "And _you're_ out of grenades."

"I said get lost." Kazuhira shot back the rejection, not making eye contact with either of them. _He sure is hard-headed._

"I could always just put you out of your misery. I _did_ lose some of my men." Snake walked up to the left side of the bed, by the present. "Here." He picked it up by the handles. "I brought you a present." He placed it on a free spot on the bed next to Kazuhira's hip. He looked at the gift then back up to Snake. "Go on, open it."

Kazuhira grabbed onto the bag then placed it on his lap. "Why are you here?" He asked, wanting to get right to business. "You going to interrogate me?"

"Wrong." Snake reprimanded. "I already know all about you, Kazuhira Miller."

"Hmph…" Kazuhira looked like he wanted to laugh with defeat.

"Formerly of Japan's Self-Defense Forces…"

"An army that doesn't fight." Kazuhira looked down at the bag.

"It's no _army_. You went to America, then ended up down here. No combat experience to speak of. Yet somehow, two months ago, you became a drill sergeant to a platoon of rebels." Snake let out a chuckle. "Impressive."

"If you're here to piss on me then get lost." Kazuhira's vocals started to sound agitated. Being in the room with Snake while he was striking out a deal made the air in the room thick. There was no telling what moves he had up his sleeve…and Kazuhira hadn't even opened his present yet.

"Wrong again." Snake took in a deep inhale, taking a step to the bed. He pointed to a spot by Kazuhira's right leg. "Mind if I sit here?" Snake roughly plopped onto the bed, making it shake and squeak; causing Kazuhira to become very uncomfortable.

"Son of a…Don't move the bed."

"I came to make you an offer." Snake finally let it out.

"What?"

"I want you to join me."

"Join _you_?"

"That's right." Snake nodded and crossed his arms over his chest. Lydia glanced at Kazuhira whom only started to laugh. "What do you say?" Snake leaned in, putting more pressure on Kazuhira's personal bubble. "I'm serious."

"I was hired by the revolutionaries. Pay's not as bad as you think."

Snake leaned back and pointed his right finger up to the roof. "Spoken like a true businessman."

"The fighting here won't be over anytime soon. You expect me to change sides and help the government?"

"Heh, wrong… _again_." Snake was getting a lot of amusement out of this little conversation. It was an honor to see the pro at work. Kaz rolled his eyes.

"Then enlighten me."

"My contract with the government expired yesterday. Your unit was my last job for them."

"So…you're just like me." Kazuhira admitted. "You go where the money is."

"It isn't about the money. We all fight for ourselves."

"So…for the money." Kazuhira said with a straight face. Lydia smacked her palm against her head while Snake let out a frustrated sigh. Her gesture made Kazuhira let out a small crack of laughter.

"I think I just realized how the Japanese turned they economy around. I guess I can't convince you right away."

"Save your breath." Kazuhira spoke up. "Now take a hike." Lydia's patience was growing thin with this guy. He was thrown an opportunity and doesn't catch it?! Snake better have something else up his sleeve, or he's not going to get the hook.

Snake let out a sly grin. "I hear you're headed for a cell as soon as you're better. Interrogators here can be very unpleasant. I should know. I trained them." Lydia's eyes grew wide. _What?!_ If Snake knew how to _not_ talk under interrogation, he knew the perfect moves that would make anyone crack. Now that he wasn't with the US…he really could do anything he wanted.

"Oh yeah?" Kazuhira challenged…not sure if he wanted to sound scarred or prideful.

"One technique the French liked to use in Indochina…pushing bamboo splinters under the fingernails." Kazuhira leaned back on the bed and audibly gulped.

"The fingernails?"

"It's _extremely_ painful. I've watched grown men scream like babies. They literally shit themselves."

Kazuhira shook off the imagery and narrowed his blue eyes at Snake. "Trying to scare me?"

"But pain doesn't kill you." Snake continued. "And you have ten fingernails, ten toenails. They'll take their time on every one of them. And when that's over? Your nails'll be gone, but they'll just be getting started. Your teeth, for example. Twenty-eight of those. _Hoho_ , you still got your wisdom teeth?" Snake leaned in close one more time to try and look into Kazuhira's mouth without prying it open. Kazuhira looked a tad traumatized, but kept his breathing calm despite what the heart-monitor was reading. Snake poked the present on Kazuhira's lap, making him turn his attention to the object. "Open your present."

Kazuhira stuck his hand in the bag and dug around. "You're giving me…" he pulled out the adult diaper, looking disgusted. "…a diaper?!"

"It'll come in handy - trust me."

"Very funny." His voice was low and dangerous. He was ready to snap at the offensive gesture. Outside, there was a commotion going on. Lydia turned her head to see there were soldiers carrying traitors out for another execution. Very close to the tent.

"Look outside." Kazuhira tilted his head to glance out into the open camp. One man was thrown into the open while a firing squad of soldiers cocked their guns.

"FIRE!" The sergeant shouted. Bullets tore into the man, killing him instantly. Lydia turned her head back to the two men in the tent, already used to the sound and sight.

"One of the regular military's 'executions'. You see a lot of them around here." Kaz grunted and looked down at his feet. "How about it? Join me and I'll throw in a full pardon - forget the whole thing."

Kaz craned his head back up to look at Snake. "You're a _mercenary_. What can _you_ do?"

"The commander and I have an understanding." Snake responded nonchalantly.

"An understanding?"

"My journal contains a few secrets he'd rather his superiors not know about."

"Blackmail?" Lydia looked to the ground. Snake…he was…a bad ass to say the least. He hadn't let himself go in all this time, that's for sure. She didn't know he could be so efficient when it came to things like this.

"He just doesn't want to get lined up too." Snake dug into his pockets and pulled out a small container full of cigars. He took one and held a lighter in his free hand. Lydia watched him light the cigar and take the first inhale, blowing the smoke into Kazuhira's face.

"Hey." Kazuhira waved away some of the smoke. "You're in a hospital."

"You're the only patient."

"But why me?" Kazuhira questioned as Snake took in another inhale. "How do you know I won't just take off and join back up with the rebels?"

"Well, I'm hearing rumors."

"What rumors?" Kazuhira sounded slightly paranoid.

"That Kazuhira Miller is a government spy whose mission was to infiltrate the rebels and bring them down from the inside."

"Bullshit." Kazuhira crossed his arms.

"Part of the government's disinformation campaign. Maybe the CIA's planting ideas."

"So what?"

"But what are the rebels going to think? Your unit was wiped out, only your body wasn't among the dead. Doesn't look good for you, huh?"

"You? You started those rumors…" Kazuhira spoke.

"No," He was instantly cut off. "but it doesn't change the fact that your days with the rebels are over. They'll be looking to get even with that traitor, Kazuhira Miller." Snake stood up from the bed. "Good luck going freelance on your own, at least around these parts…" Snake took another inhale of his cigar, watching the smoke flow out of his mouth. "Having said that, getting out of the country won't be easy either." Another execution was taking place outside, causing Kazuhira to retract his glance and look down at his feet. "Helping rebels…it isn't worth it. They're broke, barely any firepower, and a lot to be responsible for. And don't join government forces either, all that power and corruption - the stink'll never wash off." Snake paused to some type of effect, waiting for Kazuhira to look up at him in the eyes. "Join me. We make our own way. No ideology, no balance of power to worry about. Just the perfect home for those who want to fight."

"You want me to join you?" Kazuhira couldn't wrap his head around the question. It was a hard deal to beat, but he must've had some kind of trust issues…even with the threat of torture sticking to his hide. "We may be hired guns, but you're still my enemy."

"Some people are only good at fighting." Lydia spoke up, catching Kazuhira's attention right away. "Wether they were born that way, or someone made them that way, like me, their place has always been on the battlefield. Right?" Snake nodded at her input.

"The question is…what do they fight for? Country? Family? Money?" Snake added.

"I…"

"It doesn't matter. But guys like that, cut from the same cloth…they belong on the same side. Better that than killing each other."

"'Victory…or death…'" Kazuhira muttered.

"What?" Lydia and Snake muttered simultaneously.

"I don't accept that you beat me."

"Oh?" Snake raised his eyebrow.

"I have no reason to join you."

"Uh-huh." Snake nodded.

"How about…a contest?" Kazuhira crossed his arms.

"A contest?" Lydia rolled her eyes. _How mature._

"You win, and I'll join you. But if you lose, you have to let me go." Kazuhira was calm about this…he was going to make the game to his advantage…there was no doubt about it.

"So you can do what?" Snake questioned.

"I just want to settle things between us, that's all. What do you say? Let me heal up. Gimme a week. I choose the contest and the place."

"Fine. It's a deal." Snake stepped further away from the bed, waving at Lydia to follow him out.

"Hey. When I win, and I'm free…" Snake stopped at the tent's entry-way. "I'm going to tell the rebels that you're the real spy. Snake let out a chuckle, throwing Kazuhira off his guard. "What's so funny? You'll be the one getting the bamboo manicure. Here, you'll need this." Kazuhira picked up the diaper and threw it at Snake, whom caught it with ease.

"Thanks." He held it up. "And if you need anything, let the guys here know. I'll give them the heads-up."

"I will." Kazuhira nodded, taking a glance at Lydia.

"One other thing." Snake added.

"Hmm?" He returned his eyes to Snake.

"Don't think of escaping. These guys, they fall in line, but they can be a little temperamental. Can't have our contest if you make 'em shoot you."

"Yeah." He shrugged.

"Catch you later, Kazuhira Miller."

Once Snake drew back the tent's entryway, Kazuhira called out. "Hey!"

"Hm?" He turned his head around one last time.

"I'm not in this for the money."

"So what is it?" Lydia crossed her arms. Kazuhira flashed a weak smile then broke eye contact.

"No…its' nothing you need to hear. So…what do I call you two?"

"Me?" The both pointed to themselves. Kazuhira let out a single laugh.

"Yeah."

"Iris."

"You can call me 'Boss'." The both of them started to share a laugh before Snake cleared the air. "The name's Snake."

"See you in a week, Iris, Snake."

"Yup." Snake waved. He dropped the diaper from his hand with a smile. "In the mean time, I'll leave this here. Just in case if you wimp out."


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise!**

 **Author's Note: Well, this has been a pretty eventful week and I feel like we ALL need a new chapter...matter of fact...have TWO chapters. Be expecting the next one soon (fair warning...this one is a tad short due to the "there would be way too much going on" shenanigans). Anywhoo, I hope you enjoy :3**

 **CaptainMc:** I'm glad you enjoyed it; here is the next update :) Kaz is just a hoot, I tell ya. A 100% hoot with him and his underestimations. xD

 **Guest K** : I'm glad we figured out what was happening! lol Also glad you enjoyed the mellowness of the previous chapter; there are more exciting ones to come! :)

 **TobiasLink** : WELCOME ABOARD! :D And thank you for the review! You don't have to wait any longer because here's two new chapters! lol :)

 **PS Thank you to all of those who submit reviews. They are very important to me because I want to make all of my HAU readers happy and wanting to come back for more. I'm so happy it's working so far and I can't wait to produce even better product for each and every one of you! *peace sign***

* * *

 **"The clouds never expect it,**

 **When it rains.**

 **But the sea changes colors.**

 **But the sea, d** **oes not change.** **"**

 **-Stevie Nicks**

* * *

"You lose your stance whenever I approach." Snake scolded Lydia. Over the past week, he had been teaching her some new CQC techniques, choke-holds in particular. The sun had just started to set, and they had one day to go until Kazuhira's challenge.

"Oh yeah? I'm losing my stance because I'm so _flipping_ tired." Lydia rolled her eyes. "Besides, shouldn't you be resting up for the little game Kazuhira has in store for you?"

"…oh yeah." Lydia wanted to collapse to the ground. It's been almost the full ten days and he wasn't even _thinking_ about it?!

"You're impossible, Snake." Lydia shook her head, looking around. "Word of mouth is that he's been getting everything set up. The military is even attending to all his needs or something."

"All he's doing is showing me what he can accomplish in ten days. I have to admit...it's rather impressive."

"It sure is…" Lydia spaced off until the sound of gunfire rang thought her ears. "Gee, is there any dull moment around here?"

"We've been here over a week, and you're just now asking that?" Snake retorted, causing Lydia to sigh.

"Shut up." Lydia rolled her eyes. She dusted off her black tee-shirt and glanced at Snake. "Hey, I think I'm going to head into town and pick up a few things. Did you need anything?"

"Nah, kid."

"Alrighty." She bid Snake farewell and jogged up to a small, dormant jeep by the entrance to the compound. She looked around, trying to spot the owner of the vehicle. When she saw someone walk by, she raised up her hand to stop them. "Hey!" She immediately caught their attention. "Can you drive me into town?"

"You work for the boss, right? One sec, doll!" The man dressed in green camouflage jogged up to her. "Hop in." He politely opened the passenger door for Lydia and motioned her into the seat.

"Well… _thank_ you." Lydia couldn't help but laugh to herself at his chivalrous display.

"It looks like it's going to rain soon." She hadn't noticed, but the surroundings were dull and cloudy. "You going to be back in time? I hate driving in the rain."

"If it does start, you can just leave without me." Lydia responded nonchalantly.

"Alright. Whatever you say." He turned over the engine and they were off to the town. Half an hour had passed before they arrived; the driver dropped her off just on the outskirts. "Hey! I'm going to head back! I saw some drops on the windshield!"

"Ok! Drive safe, hermano!" Lydia turned away from the jeep and proceeded into the town. "Now where was that store again?" She looked around and spotted the largest building right on the side of the road. "There we go, super convenient." Upon looking around, Lydia frowned at the town's emptiness. Not one person was walking about. Not even kids goofing in the streets...then again it could have been because of the weather. Lydia walked into the entry-way of the convenient store and instantly saw something she didn't expect to lay her eyes on. Beyond a few shelves, the styled, blonde hair of Kazuhira Miller stood out like a sore thumb. _Crap._

Before he could look around and see who had walked into the store from the sound of the entry-bell, Lydia swiftly ducked into the nearest isle walk-way. _He's going to think I'm following him…wait. No. Lydia, this is the first time you've seen him in like nine days._ She rose up into a slouched position that kept her head out of view. _What the heck is he doing out here? He's supposed to be at the camp._ Lydia moved down the isle and poked her head above the top. Kazuhira was still in the same place, but it looked like he was talking to someone… _He's up to something. I guess I should take a closer look._ Lydia snuck her way into the isle behind Kazuhira and heard a second party was involved, as she expected. The other guy must've been short for her not to see him. Their conversation was in Spanish; it seemed she showed up right in the middle of it.

"Take this to them in one piece. And enjoy that scotch, will ya?" Outside, it began to pour rain. The heavy wight of the rain-drops hit the building like a flock of angry birds. Lydia's eyes followed the footsteps of the man Kazuhira was talking with, eventually taking off in a brisk walk out of the store. Kazuhira stood there for a while before some soldiers walked into the building.

"You done?" They spoke to him. _Soldiers?_ Lydia narrowed her eyes. _There's something more happening here that I realized if he has our team involved. It's either that or he's a damn good businessman._

"Be right there." Kazuhira spoke up. He started walking to the right while Lydia took the opportunity to stealth to the left. She stood at the end of the isle until she saw Kazuhira turn out into the opening. She hadn't been noticed… Did the military escort him into town or something? How did she and Snake not see him sneak out? Lydia peeked down the isle; noticing the group of men had left sight.

"Finally." She heard the young lady behind the desk sigh. "They're gone." She called out to Lydia. At the call, Lydia stood up and let out an breath she didn't know she was holding in.

"Is that why everyone is all cooped up in their houses? At first I thought it was the rain...but after that display I'm beginnign to think otherwise." Lydia walked up to the counter.

"Not to be a downer, but this town doesn't like the military very much. So when they showed up early today, everyone took shelter. I guess the storm didn't help either." The clerk frowned.

"I thought things seemed a little dull." Lydia scratched her head. "Anyway, do you know what was happening?"

"No, if I listen, I'm afraid I'll get shot."

"Oh…" Lydia blinked a few times at the girl's seriousness. "That's understandable." Lydia's eyes diverted to the small fridge behind the counter. "Umm…do you mind if I have a Cola?"

"Oh!" The clerk turned around and opened the fridge, grabbing the lovely soft-drink. "I do not mind at all."

"Thanks." Lydia chucked, placing some money onto the counter. "That's all I came in here for. Have a good day."

"Be safe in that storm!"

"Will do!" Lydia walked right outside and was shielded by a small balcony overhead. The wind was very strong, like a tropical storm was blowing over. _I've gotta tell Snake what I saw. Kazuhira is definitley up to something._ Lydia twisted open the coke, sipping on it right after. The suds burned her throat on its way down. It was almost as addicting as a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. _This'll be nice. I suppose it's like I'm taking a shower at the same time._ Lydia threw the bottle away once she finished with it and began to jog back to the base. The rain was dense and didn't sting too much on impact, which was odd considering the wind pressure. _I'm no meteorologist...but this is no time to think about the weather haha._ Lydia laughed to herself keeping up her pace.

Lydia jogged for about fifteen minutes before she slowed to a walking pace to catch her breath. "I wish I had my bike right now." She sighed. The first few minutes were nice, but she changed her mind around the ten-minute mark. Her clothing was soaked and her hair was sticking to her skin…by no means was she remotely comfortable. Her boots were covered in mud and the ground felt like it was sinking at her feet. The most she could be thankful for was a harder work-out. _Maybe this wasn't such a great idea._

The more she walked, the more she could feel the dull pain in her left leg return; something she hadn't felt in years. The more she tried to ignore it, the worse it got. Lydia finally took it upon herself to stop and lean against a large tree-trunk. The rain wasn't too bad in the semi-shade. Her left hand moved to her thigh, giving it a small squeeze to relieve some tension. Lydia shut her eyes and removed her hand, trying to shut away a memory that was beginning to creep up.

Thunder boomed out of no where, making her eyes jolt open. Not a second later, a bolt of lightning came into view, traveling through the sky in a spastic pattern.

" _Do you know what happens when electricity collides with water?"_

Lydia's left leg spasmed, making her kneel to the ground. The pulsing in her head became more prominent with every drum of thunder she heard. Lightning cracked all around her.

 _"That lightning storm wasn't natural. Just before I saw the plan crash…it's like it was…I don't know, following it?"_

The electrical scars left behind from all those years ago started to burn like it was happening all over again. Lydia let out a groan and wrapped her arms around her torso, trying to do anything she could to calm down. Klein's lifeless face popped up in her head. Lips purple, skin drained of all blood. With a groan, she found herself cramped back up under Ocelot's mahogany desk, when a loud BANG erupted though her ears.

 _"We still have a lot of things to…discuss."_

Volgen's voice was poison to her mind. He haunted her through every crack of lightning. "Lydia!" A familiar, muffled voice turned snapped her out of the daze. Before her, Snake was shaking her shoulders, trying to get her to snap out of the flashbacks.

"Jack…?" Lydia's forehead crashed onto his chest. Her voice was distant, like her own soul was floating away from her body. She felt weightless for a few moments then was placed back onto something soft.

"Drive." Lydia heard Snake bark out to a third party. The vibration and rumbling of the vehicle reminded her of the plane. The lightning storm following without a single moment to spare. Reliving those moments in the USSR came up out of nowhere and there was no telling when they would finally leave her alone.

"Jump on four." Lydia found herself whispering. "Jump on four." She opened her eyes once she felt Snake's hand resting on her forehead. "Snake…" He looked down so she could look in his comforting green eye. She was so disoriented, but she had to be sure she wasn't trapped inside the tragic memory. "Where am I, I'm not in a plane, am I?"

"No. On our way back to camp. You were gone too long. Thought you might've been lost, but now I get the idea." Snake paused before he continued. "Have you been dealing with PTSD all alone this whole time?" Lydia didn't say anything. She never wanted to go get help. She was always good at avoiding situations that reminded her of her time in the USSR. Take it for the one time to not think anything of it and have the memories resurface at the worst moment. Snake let out a groan from her silence. "Lydia, you can't go out during storms like this. There are too many triggers in a short amount of time." Although he didn't know what she went thought, he possibly knew she had dealt with Volgen. He could probably tell from her reaction to the storm.

Lydia wasn't ready to open up about her time in Russia, not even to Snake. Reliving those events…bringing them up just to talk about them…she didn't want to go through those emotions again...the flash-backs were almost too much. Anything but the pain of remembering…she had enough of that already.

But what was she doing before all this? She was in the store… _oh yeah, Kazuhira_. Lydia reopened her eyes and looked at Snake. "Snake?"

"Hm?"

"I saw Kazuhira in town." She said quietly, attempting to steer her mind away from the flash-backs.

"Really?"

"He sent off this guy with a bottle of scotch and some kind of letter, I think." Lydia looked away from Snake and to the brown tarp that covered the jeep. "If you hurry, you might be able to catch him. He's up to something."


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS franchise!**

 **Author's note: Here is the second chapter for the day! Happy Chapter 20! I hope you enjoy! :3**

 **CaptainMc** : This story is so fun to write and I have such an amazing audience, so it's my pleasure to write it! :) Kaz is one sneaky bastard that's for sure. Especially in them pre-MGPW Days! Thank you for the praise on the flash-back. While I was writing the scene, I wanted to pay homage to those scenes in MGS4 that use the "press x" to see a flash-back related to what's happening! How the photos are a tad spastic based on the player's speed xD I'm glad you're liking the schedule too, I want to keep you guys as updated as possible! Thanks for that feedback! :D

* * *

 **"Buddy you're a boy make a big noise**

 **Playin' in the street gonna be a big man some day.**

 **You got mud on your face,**

 **You big disgrace.**

 **Kickin' your can all over the place.**

 **Singin' we will rock you."**

 **-Queen**

* * *

Lydia's eyes had been open half the night with almost no rest to stack up on. "Hey, Kazuhira is waiting on us." Snake sounded off at her bedside. He gently shook her to see if she was awake. Lydia was still a tad uncomfortable from the episode yesterday, but nonetheless, she was ready for some action if it called for it. They day of reckoning was upon them…October 28…the day they would hopefully recruit Kazuhira.

"Yeah. Give me a sec." Lydia sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. "I'll change into some gear. Snake nodded and exited the room to give her some privacy. Once she was covered up in some appropriate attire that consisted of a black tank and green cargo pants with a utility vest and belt that holstered her pistol and knife, she was on her way out. Lydia met up with Snake by the entrance of the base. "Hey." She greeted.

"Now we're waiting on Kazuhira." Lydia rolled her eyes.

"Now _he's_ making _us_ wait." She laughed. "Are you prepared for anything Snake?"

"Yeah, he can't fool me." He chuckled. "Good job by the way, I was able to intercept that guy in time." That sneaky bastard! How was he able to do it so fast?! Lydia nodded her head proudly. To their right, they heard the engine of a truck with a covered bed rolling up to the base. Kazuhira was in the passenger side being carted around by some unknown soldier.

"You ready?" Kazuhira asked out the window once the vehicle came to a stop. He hopped out of the seat, landing gracefully in front of the two of them. His hair was longer than the average cut, but much more tamed by the way he styled it back. He was wearing some light combat fatigues with his signature yellow ascot around his neck. After all the resting, it looked like he was probably back to his old self before the ambush…but...for some reason it kinda felt like he was missing something important.

"Yes." Snake nodded, motioning Lydia to walk with him to the back of the truck.

"Once we're in the area, I'll tell you all about the contest."

Snake and Lydia hopped into the truck and sat on opposite sides of on another. Oddly enough, the driver pulled the tarp down so where they couldn't see where they were going. "I guess it's going to be a _surprise_." Lydia muttered in a sarcastic tone, looking at Snake. He only nodded. Lydia crawled closer to the back of the tarp and peeked outside. Following them there was another cargo truck with the familiar militant that drove her around everywhere the first few days she was at camp. He must've brought some guys to tag along and watch…maybe because of an ambush? Nah, it was probably because they wanted to see their boss at work.

Who knows how long they were driving? It was boring as hell until the truck came to a casual stop. Kazuhira's voice was heard on the other side of the tarp, calling out to them. "Alright, come on out." Lydia was the first to get up and jump out of the truck. She looked around at the awkward choice of area. There was a tad too much dense forestation…enough to make anyone's travel uncomfortable. About five or so meters away from them was a small river that probably extended for miles. Snake exited behind Lydia and sighed at the sight.

"Miller, this area's no good. Find somewhere else." Snake was highly unamused.

Kazuhira crossed his arms over his chest, narrowed his bright blue eyes, and raised an eyebrow in a mocking manner. "You afraid of something?" He held a sly grin. "No one's ever set foot in this jungle. The crocs here don't even have a taste for human flesh."

"I'm not talking about those caimans."

"There are no dangerous animals to worry about." He placed his right hand on his hip. Lydia looked around, listening to her surroundings. All she could hear were a plethora of animals, and the water source echoing through the trees and the sound of their allies piling out of the cargo-truck that followed them there. "Well, except maybe snakes, and I figure they're on _your_ side." Kazuhira casually walked up to Snake and degradingly patted his hand onto Snake's shoulder. "Nothing will disturb us here."

"I heard about a group of bandits that operate in these parts." Snake didn't make eye contact with him, only looking around at the immediate ecosystem. Snake was a lot more aware about these parts of Colombia than Lydia, whom was only confined to Cartagena since she left the States. While Kazuhira continued to talk, she started to spot little things that were out of the ordinary. Small rocks have been turned over, there were shuffled tracks in the damp earth, bushes and branches had even been cut. _Kazuhira picked this place on purpose…just like I thought, he's up to something shady._ "They grow drugs for the cartels. I doubt they're going to appreciate getting visitors." _Good to know._ Lydia thought.

Lydia looked around some more, examining some disturbed soil and tampered foliage. "No one's _ever_ set foot here, huh?" Lydia scoffed. "Look again, Kazuhira. Signs of human activity are everywhere." She nodded her head toward the group of trees that had some man-made damage. "Trampled grass, roughed up soil, blade marks on tree trunks." Her eyes landed on a small boulder behind Kazuhira. The grass below it was squished into the dirt and there were small pieces of grass and mud on the side of the rock. "And look over there, that stone's been turned over. It's still damp." Lydia crossed her arms, getting a dirty look from Kazuhira. "Somebody's been through here, in the last few hours. And not just one or two guys." Snake looked around, probably noticing some more things that were tampered with.

"This place is no good…forget about it, samurai." Snake spoke, returning his eyes to Kazuhira. "You're just making it worse for yourself."

"Tch." Kazuhira spat. "No, this has got to be the place." His right hand clasped into a fist.

"Why?" Lydia shot at him, catching him more off guard than he already was.

"Uhh…" Kazuhira began to close the gap between the three of them. "Hold on. Just. One. Second. Just what are you two so _afraid_ of?" Kazuhira was getting the wrong idea. They weren't afraid of anything, they were just onto his little trick he was about to pull. Kazuhira was completely transparent. "Iris, you can keep watch if you want…keep a look out for bandits." Kazuhira leaned close to Lydia's face, unmoving. "Make sure I don't try to escape." She dully stared into his blue eyes, not saying a word and rather unamused at his display to sway her.

"Why do you think _they're_ here?" Snake interjected, making Kazuhira back away from Lydia's bubble.

"Alright, alright. All _these_ guys, all _that_ firepower, nobody'd pick a fight with them. Am I wrong?" Kazuhira back-tracked.

"Alright. So, what are _we_ doing here?" Snake cut to the chase.

"Gonna catch some fish." Kazuhira grinned. The driver of the truck tossed him a spear, which he gracefully caught. "Ever gone spear fishing?"

"…I've gone _knife_ fishing." The driver wanted to hand Snake a spear, but he waved it away. _Spear fishing? Knife fishing? I've been line-cast fishing…_ Lydia scratched her head, feeling out of the bubble.

 _"_ Fishing…with a _knife_?" Kazuhira sounded just as confused as how Lydia was thinking. At least she wasn't the only one.

"Nothing beats a good knife. Ever."

"Well…close enough." Kazuhira shrugged. "Whoever gets the most and biggest wins. Nice and peaceful, huh?"

"And if I win, you'll join me?"

"Of course. I'll even call you 'Boss'." Kazuhira said too confidently. Little did he know that Snake was a survival _specialist_. If there was a PHD in the world on survival…well he would be the master. Snake sighed at the easy competition and shook his head.

"Ok, no point in standing around. Let's get going." Kazuhira tossed Snake his spear then took a hold of the one the driver of the truck had. The both of them walked to the river, the lot of them with the most serious looks on their faces. Lydia and the other men walked to either side of them, getting a perfect view of the action. Once they both stepped into the water, It was time to fish! Snake and Kazuhira started stabbing at the whatever was swimming around. The both of them were catching all sizes of fish. They would bring them up to the grass and instantly thrust their spears back into the rushing water. Suddenly, Snake's eyes narrowed, catching the eye of something big. Once he stabbed it, Kazuhira jumped back.

"Th-they're monsters…?" On the tip of Snake's spear was a piranha!

"It's full of arowana! You knew about this little fishing hole, huh? That's why you picked this place?"

"… _Sure_." This Kazuhira...he was something. He was attempting to catch Snake off his guard, but it was no use. No matter how much Kazuhira wanted the upper-hand...it just wasn't going to happen.

"How many'd you get?" Snake questioned, stepping out of the water and back onto dry land.

"Two…not too big, huh. They wouldn't feed a sparrow." Kazuhira looked so… _sad_. It almost made Lydia want to laugh at the pathetic amount he caught compared to Snake. He had been moving so fast, that she hadn't kept count! "And you got, two…four…six…seven. Every one must be at least three feet." Lydia clapped her hands in achievement until Snake let out a long, disappointed sigh at his opponent.

"Tell you what," Snake addressed the depressed Kazuhira. "I'll even the odds for you."

"And what is that?"

"You beat Lydia in any _one_ event, and you win the contest. I let you go, and you never hear from me again." Lydia's eye twitched at the request.

"Wait…what?" She placed her hand on her hip. "Are you _serious_ right now?" She glanced from Snake to Kazuhira, who held an even more disappointed look on his face. Even the odds?! Is that an insult?

"So what's next?" Kazuhira rolled his eyes at Snake's question.

"…How about…" Kazuhira turned his head to give Lydia an odd grin. "Arm wrestling?" Lydia instantly wanted to fall over at the lame contest.

"Hmm…alright. It can't be too hard." Kazuhira cracked a smile at Snake's confidence. Lydia raised her eyebrow, remembering how he couldn't pry her hands off the grenade when they first met. Then again, Kazuhira was suffering from grenade injuries and blood loss...but he still had no idea of her true brutish lady-like strength.

"This is going to be easy." Lydia cracked her knuckles. The men grabbed one of the benches that was sitting inside one of the truck's beds and placed in on the ground in between her and Kazuhira. Lydia knelt down and placed her right elbow on the table, readying her hand to latch with his.

"You ready?" Kazuhira followed suit and connected his hand with her's. Everyone crowded around in a circle, waiting to see who could possibly be the winner!

"Go!" One man shouted. At that, Kazuhira and Lydia were at it! She stared into his face, enjoying how much he was struggling. His face was almost comical as he bit his bottom lip in the struggle against her. A stream of sweat started to drip down his brow. Kazuhira had, indeed, underestimated her strength. Lydia found amusement by staring deep into his bright blue eyes until she easily slammed his fist into the bench.

"Gah!" Lydia released her grip and held a thumbs-up to Snake, who only nodded in approval. The men around them were cheering in victory, while Kazuhira furrowed his eyebrows in anger.

"Anything _else_ you good at?" Snake laughed.

"Hey I thought you said ONE?!" Lydia called out to Snake, but her victory was interrupted when Kazuhira chimed in.

"Field strip and reassemble a firearm! I was the fastest in all of Japan." Lydia had no choice but to pause her thoughts about Kazuhira's gloat before she said something stupid. _Oh man...I LOVE doing this. It was the closest thing Snake let me do that resembled a puzzle during my training with him back in the States!_

"Ok. Do it blindfolded." Lydia's mouth nervously gaped open for a split moment before she returned to her poker-face. _But I'm not so sure about blindfolded…ha._

"Whaaaaaat?" Kazuhira stepped back. _Good, he's just as freaked out as me._ Lydia took out her pistol and placed it on the bench. She looked around to a guy who had an orange bandana wrapped around his arm.

"Hey, let me borrow that, will ya?" She motioned to the piece of fabric.

"Yes ma'am!" He untied the bandana and gave it to her. She tied it around her eyes, ready to go.

"Waiting on you Kazuhira." She grinned, not able to see his stupid face.

"Now I see why you don't have a husband." Lydia's eyebrow twitched under the fabric at the insult. The thumping of a pistol was placed in front of Kazuhira.

 _Once I'm in the swing of it, I'm sure I'll get it. It's hiding in my muscle memory._ "Go!" Shouted the same referee from earlier. Lydia grabbed onto the pistol, stroking her right hand along the surface, immediately remembering where to start. Once she heard that first click, it was all downhill from there. She disassembled the piece, able to see the pistol in her mind. From the sounds of it, Kazuhira hadn't gotten too far and was rather confused. She now had all the pieces lying out in front of her in a specific order. She started it up again just how she was trained to do. Within a minute, everything was put back together.

"Done." Lydia smiled, taking off the blindfold. Below her, the pistol had been perfectly reassembled. _Phew, I didn't fuck it up!_ Kazuhira was defeated yet again. Snake lit up a celebratory cigar at the impressive display. He walked up to Kazuhira's pistol and picked it up, examining it with a little laughter hidden under his breath.

"What's that, a model airplane?" He tossed it back down in front of him. Kazuhira was getting frustrated. "So, you're giving up and joining my unit?" _Please say yes, I don't want him to bring up a challenge I can't do._

Kazuhira clenched his fist. _"_ No, I'm just getting started…"

" _Wonderful."_ Lydia rolled her eyes with the upmost sarcasm. "So what's next? Noodle eating contest? Judo?"

"No, not this time. Shooting…" Kazuhira took in a deep breath. " _SPEED SHOOTING!_ " There was something he was passionate about. He was obnoxiously loud at the exclamation.

"Keep your voice down." Snake nagged.

"Yeah no kidding." Lydia chimed in her two cents, cleaning out her right ear with her pinky.

"We take turns. Six targets each. Whoever shoots them the fastest wins."

"Alright." Snake spoke up. "But it's nearly sundown. If the bandits hear our gunfire, we'll have them to deal with."

"This is the last event." _Oh thank god._ "And if I lose this time, I promise I'll join your unit."

"I'm holding you to that." Snake agreed.

Lydia looked around at the men, holding out her hand. "I'll take somebody's 1911." A soldier walked up and let his .45 pistol fall into Lydia's hand.

"Stand by! We'll set up some targets!" Some men volunteered, walking past the river. Minutes had passed until they had put together some make-shift targets. Lydia stood at ease until the men had safely returned from firing range. "You ready, ma'am?" One of them questioned.

Lydia cocked the gun, ready as ever.

"Just tell me when." Lydia spoke confidently.

"Alright!" The man started from the count of three before he shouted for her to start. "Go!" Her display was impressive! Her eyes were one step ahead of her hands, making sure to hit every target with as much accuracy she could muster. One by one, the bullets crashed into the targets, earning a cheer from the majority of men standing behind her. Once done, she finally let out a long exhale...not realizing she had held in her breath. She had shot all six targets in her most impressive time yet. "2.89 seconds." The referee called out.

"Very nice, very nice." Snake applauded. "You've gotten better." He patted Lydia on the shoulder.

"Here." She held out the gun to Kazuhira. "It's you're turn."

"That it is. That. It. Is." Kazuhira laced his fingers around the pistol, fiddling around with it so he had a decent grip. He reloaded the ammo and cocked back the chamber, admiring the gun for a moment. "Only my target is… _you_ , Snake." The moment he held up the gun toward Snake's head, a large sum of men emerged themselves from the foliage. Lydia looked around at the numbers. They had some heavy artillery, that's for sure.

Snake held a dead-stare into Kazuhira's blue eyes. It was a look that would make any man crumble to his knees.

"We're surrounded." One of their buddies shakily inhaled.

"Hey! Kept you waiting, _huh_?" Kazuhira waltzed around. "You can finally show yourselves!"

"So…that shout was their cue? _Speed shooting?_ " Lydia narrowed her eyes at the sneaky display. _Speed-shooting my ass. I'll speed-shoot my foot up your ass._ Lydia wanted to spit at his boots. "Who are they? Don't look much like bandits to me."

"These are my most _trusted_ men." He motioned to them with his head, still keeping the gun on Snake.

"Hmph, they were already here…that's why you kept insisting." Lydia took a pace in front of Snake, positioning herself better for a shield position.

"Sounds about right." Kazuhira simply responded.

"And the ' _contest_ '? Just buying time till the sun went down?" Snake looked round at the men engulfing them in a circle.

"Heheheh, it has been fun." Kazuhira chuckled. "But I'll be damned if I'm going to be your lapdog."

"Lapdog?" Snake groaned. "All I did was ask you to join me."

"Sounds all the same to me." Kazuhira retorted. "Remember what I said? I'm not in this for the money."

"Yeah. So why is it?"

"I have a dream."

"You have a dream?" Snake mocked. "Taking cues from Dr. King?"

"Not that kind of dream." Kazuhira laughed. "But I _will_ change the world. It's the dawn of a new era, and I will create just the business it needs."

"How did I ever talk down to a businessman like you?" Snake wondered aloud. Kazuhira...he was a true business man for sure. There was no doubt about that, he had managed to bind the lot of them into a corner...unless Snake still had a plan. He was able to intercept that guy Kazuhira was speaking with the day before if her memory served her correctly.

"The days of the Cold War are numbered. What will follow is a time of chaos, with no clear cut line between friend and foe. I will offer this world personnel, supplies, maintenance, intelligence…whatever military muscle it needs, where it's needed. Irrespective of ideologies, isms, or borders. Privatized militaries will shape world affairs and the economy, and I will be point man for this new age. Mercenaries are news to nobody. This is a whole _new_ ball game. I guess I can't convince you right away. Save your breath. What do you say? _You_ want to come work for _me_? Along with them?" Kazuhira was turning everything around on Snake! Every little thing Snake said had said last week was being fired right back at him! Sly dog!

"They're guerrillas?" Despite what he was hearing, Snake still looked very unimpressed…like he did have something planned up his sleeve. He was moving his eye to take a gander at the new challengers that had approached.

"Yeah. They were the cream of the crop when I was a drill sergeant. I trust them more than anyone, which is why they'll have a piece of the ground floor. Why don't you join us?"

"Heheh." Snake let out a few chuckles. "Sorry to disappoint you."

"So the negotiations are over?" Kazuhira cocked back the gun another time. "Too bad."

"You gonna shoot me?" Snake half-mocked. _Like hell he is._ Lydia was having a boxing match with herself, as she took another small pace forward.

"I don't want to kill you. I just want to get away." Snake pushed Lydia out of the way and lunged for Kazuhira's gun. "Stay ba-" He couldn't even finish his sentence once Snake apprehended his arm, taking the slide of the gun right off. With the final move, he pushed Kazuhira backwards. "Dammit!" Kazuhira grunted, pointing the gun at Snake. "What?" Once his eyes observed the damaged piece, he glared at Snake. "My gun! The, the slide's gone?!"

"You mean this?" Snake was dangling the missing piece between his thumb and index finger. _THAT WAS INSANE!_ Lydia's mouth almost gaped to the ground at the crazy display of CQC she had never seen before. _When do I get to learn that shit?!_

"When did you-?!" Kazuhira let out a frustrated sigh, regaining his balance from the shock of the CQC technique. "All of you, grab him, now!" Kazuhira barked. Some soldiers dropped their guns to their sides while a select few surrounded Kazuhira and latched onto him instead. "Ah! Hey, hey, what are you - Not me, get Snake!" He couldn't wiggle his way out of this one! "Let me go!"

"Sorry…Master Miller." One of the men apologized.

"What?" All Snake could do was laugh at the confusion.

"It was your buddy, Miel. You remember the guy you gave that letter to while you were recovering." _Yes! You go, Snake!_

"How did you?!"

"Lydia discovered your little conversation in the convenient store. After she told me about it, I intercepted him and he showed it to me that very minute."

"You got that huckster to work for you too?!"

"So, last night, I paid visits to the guys in the letter, and they said they wanted to join me."

"You _betrayed_ me?!" Kazuhira glared to the men that were in his immediate vision.

"They just made a decision. Right?" Snake bellowed.

Mostly all of the soldiers nodded. "Right, Boss."

"Even then, you thought I'd only have one man watching you? You've got a lot to learn about intelligence work."

"You mean I didn't tell you? I don't have any ninja in my family tree." Kazuhira spoke through gritted teeth.

"But you've got an eye for talent, I'll give you that. They're all great soldiers. And they saw right through that story about you being a government agent."

"How did you convince them?" Kazuhira's frustration level decreased.

"We just sat down and talked man to man." Snake grinned, approaching Kazuhira. "So, you gonna admit defeat for real this time?"

"I get it…Charisma's what makes the difference." Kazuhira sighed then pulled a gutsy move and broke free from the soldiers whom were retraining him! Once free, he kicked a few away and grabbed onto one of the fishing spears, pointing it at them, before high-tailing it out of the area. "I'll survive on my own if I have to!" Lydia blinked a few times in confusion as she just witnessed Kazuhira disappear into the foliage.

"Stop! We'll shoot!" Shouted a mercenary.

"Hold fire." Snake ordered, holding up his hand.

"Damn, he is one stubborn son of a bitch." Lydia crossed his arms. "Nice trump card by the way."

"Half of it was thanks to you." Snake patted her on top of the shoulder.

"Boss! He took one of the spears!"

"Yeah. He's headed into bad ground." Snake sighed, crossing his arms in slight disappointment.

"Snake, the bandits." Lydia reminded him.

"Tch. It'll be real dark soon. You guys wait here." Snake bolted after Kazuhira, hopefully he could get to him in time!

"Go get him, Snake." Lydia shouted. "Be careful!"


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS franchise!**

 **Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who stopped by! :) If you're new here, welcome aboard! I made a much better story photo for HAU, but the image manager is NOT cooperating. Soon, the 'cooler' version will be up depending on how fast FF is at fixing the issue :D Anyway, here is the next chapter; I hope you enjoy!**

 **CaptainMc:** Well I would love to give you an answer, but that is deep within spoiler city for Lydia and those grounds are like...off limits. :3

 **Guest K** : Kaz is such a bastard lol. It makes me sad to write Lydia when she is going through something like that, and I'm glad it was effective!

 **MATURE CONTENT WARNING:** Sexual themes.

* * *

 **"Listen to the silence, let it ring on.**

 **Eyes, dark grey lenses frightened of the sun.**

 **We would have a fine time living in the night.**

 **Left to blind destruction, waiting for our sight."**

 **-Joy Division**

* * *

"This anticipation is killing me." Lydia sat on the bed of the truck waiting with the other guys that had tagged along.

"I can't believe Boss has that much influence on people." A soldier spoke up. Multiple ones around him agreed; either nodding or humming in response.

"The Boss sure is something." Lydia smiled to herself. "You know, I dropped everything to be a part of his team. When he showed up at my door…well I just couldn't believe it."

"Sounds like a _love_ story." One of the guys mocked.

"Ha!" Lydia bellowed. "He's like my _dad_ , so that would be a little weird." She sighed, looking at all the men. "His charisma and the way he carries himself is what most leaders yearn for…it just goes naturally to him."

"Mmmhmm."

"The Boss is great!"

"I want to stay with him forever!"

"Oh, Iris?" Lydia looked up to a tall man walking toward her. "How did you meet the boss?"

Lydia couldn't help but smile at his question. "It's a _long_ story." She rolled her eyes, recollecting the chain of events that happened so long ago. "He taught me how scrawny I was right off the bat! He was a jerk to be honest, but he grew on me."

"You? Scrawny?! Please, you have some meat on your bones!"

"Not back when I was sixteen." She laughed.

"Sixteen?!" Multiple soldiers gaped under their balaclavas.

"Yeah. Like I said… _long_ story." She waved her hands up. Lydia stood up from the vehicle, looking in the direction Snake and Kaz ran off to. "Right about now, he's probably teaching the village idiot a lesson he won't forget."

"We'll teach YOU a lesson you won't forget!" A sharp cry cut her off though the clearing. Lydia and the soldiers turned their heads to see what was going on. It looked like they were surrounded by damned bandits! They were armed with AR's and machetes…about twenty of them, too. "What the hell are you doing here?! This is our turf!"

"Hey fellas." Lydia waved. "We were just having a little fun." She shrugged, speaking for the group. "No harm, no foul."

"Don't you talk to me, _perra_!" The assumed leader of the squad stepped forward. Her eyes directly met with his on the insult. "There _is_ some harm done. Just look at my grass!" He dramatically motioned to the ground below them…which was just _walked_ on. "I don't _appreciate_ a bunch of guys and some _puta_ coming through _my_ neck of the woods."

"Hey! There's no need to put yourself in danger, bub. I'm not the one who's calling names and is clearly outnumbered here."

"What did you say to me?!" The angry man stepped forward, making a few friendly militants step in front of Lydia to block her from any harm. Lydia instantly placed her hands on the two men that blocked her view, gently pushing them apart.

"It's alright, I wanna see how angry this guy can get."

"Yes ma'am." They both sounded off.

"You must give some really good coño out for these sons of bitches to follow you."

"How'd you know?" Lydia crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow. The leader walked forward, licking his disgusting lips, sizing her up to the tee.

"How about you show me what you're all about, eh? And I'll let you _and_ your men off easy." He adjusted his belt, comically thrusting his hips toward her.

"You threaten _me_ with a good time?" Lydia cracked a grin at the man, making him chuckle in response. "Oh, _I'll_ give you a good time." Lydia took a swift step toward the man, grabbing him by his shaggy brown hair. She pulled him toward her and kneed him right in the crotch. He let out a fairly humorous screech while plummeting to the ground in immense pain. While he was incapacitated on his knees, Lydia pulled out her pistol from her holster and bashed him atop the head with it, knocking him out cold. The moment he hit the ground, her band of friendlies readied their weapons at the intruders; automatically making them lower their weapons in shock. She popped a bullet into the chamber and pointed it toward their leader's head.

"Now you listen here _you_ sons of bitches. I hope your grandmothers are rolling in their graves right now because of you working for this _pandejo_! Now, if anyone ELSE wants to have a hell of a good time with _my_ fist up _your_ ass - step right up because I'm _dying_ for some sweet, _sweet_ action." She looked around to everyone. Either scared or in awe, she couldn't help but let out a nefarious chuckle. "Good. Now someone get your god damn leader before I blow his brains out."

"Y-y-yes ma'am!" A few foes jogged forward and picked him up.

"Take him to his mother, he deserves a good reminder of how he should talk to a lady."

"WAHHHHHH!" The multitude of bandits escaped in the blink of an eye.

"Oh my God in _Heaven_." One man noted while a few others walked up to her. Lydia placed her gun back on safety and reholstered it back into her harness as she witnessed all of her comrades kneel down.

"PLEASE IRIS, MARRY ME!" Lydia slapped the palm of her hand to her face, dragging it down.

"Pull yourselves together for Pete's sake." Lydia rolled her eyes. To her left, she heard the sound of rustling shrubbery. "Not again." Lydia shifted her gaze, looking in that direction. Out of the woods emerged Kazuhira and Snake, whom were smiling - although Kazuhira looked little out of breath.

"And here they are kneeling before the woman that beat me. Did you _not_ hear _us_ getting attacked?" Kazuhira wined.

"Boss!"

"Master Miller!" The majority of the troops stood up in glee and faced the two men as they approached closer.

"Matter of fact, we didn't. We had a little problem of our own." Lydia crossed her arms, responding to the exhausted Kazuhira.

"And I take it you handled it?"

"I _handled_ it alright." Lydia looked at Kazuhira, who grinned and raised an eyebrow at her comment.

"I would like _you_ to handle _me_." All the troops seemingly jumped back. Some of them emitting 'oooos' and 'ahhhhhhs' at his ballsy comment. Lydia took a few steps to him and peered up into his bright, blue eyes. She didn't notice how tall he was until she was up close. Lydia scoffed and placed her right hand on her hip.

"Are we going to have a problem?"

Before Kazuhira could come back and say something, Snake interrupted with a cough. "Iris, it looks like Kazuhira finally agreed to be a part of our team."

"Good. I was getting tired of winning." She twisted her body away from him and stood at Snake's side. "So what's next, boss?"

"Finding our base."

"I can live with that." Lydia shrugged.

"For now, let's get everyone back to their stations. We'll get a plan together in the morning."

"Got it."

Lydia, Kazuhira, and Snake all piled into the same van they rode in on; en route back to the make-shift command post. "First things first, I have to speak with the commander. I have a promise to uphold."

"That's _right_ you do." Kazuhira crossed his arms and leaned his back against the tight tarp. "Oh." He straightened up after a moan and turned his attention to Lydia whom was sitting across from him and adjacent to Snake. "Iris, I don't think we've been properly introduced."

"I don't believe we have." She adjusted herself, sitting up with her back straight.

"We have an hour-drive upon us, so might as well." He shrugged happily.

"Iris." Lydia stated simply. "Ummm, from America…uhhh I'm not too sure what you want to know. I'm pretty boring."

"Hardly." Kazuhira shook his head, mischievously peering at her with his blue eyes. "I have plenty of time to get to know you. Something tells me that you're _far_ from boring."

"Well thank you, Kazuhira." She bowed her head at the compliment.

"Please, call me Kaz. I don't want to give you a mouthful _this_ early on." Snake couldn't help but let out a groan at his innuendo.

"Good lord." Lydia lightly laughed at the innuendo.

"Hey, no need to be so formal either." He winked. There was one thing for sure, he was quite the charmer. Lydia crossed her legs and arms.

"Are you _always_ like this?" Snake questioned.

"More or less." Kaz shrugged. "You saw my serious side, but now…we're comrades, right? So I can treat you like one."

"For sure." Lydia responded for Snake. "Man, I'm beat. I can't wait to get a good night's sleep." She stretched her arms up to the top of the trunk bed. "Snake, you're lucky I won any of those matches. I was half-dead!"

"I was testing you too, you know." Snake interjected…earning a raised eyebrow from Lydia. "I was trying to see how your physical and mental capabilities acted when under stress…" Her eyes trailed from Snake's face and to the bottom of the trunk.

"Hmm, it looks like we were _both_ up for tryouts." Kaz mentioned.

"Hey, you should know I was _always_ on the team. But, on the other hand, it's good to have a little faith in people you trust every now and then."

"Right." Snake agreed. "You both did pretty good." Lydia lightly blushed in embarrassment at his phrase which earned a laugh from Kaz.

"Are you two going at it, or something? You know Snake, you never answered my question back when you were chasing me."

"Going at it?" Lydia questioned. She wasn't too familiar with his terminology. "Like…dating?"

" _More_ than dating." Kazuhira leaned forward, with a finger held up in the air. "Snake here has yet to tell me how many women he's slept with." Lydia gaped and tried to hold in laughter at the same time.

"That's enough of that." Snake shook his head, keeping his notorious straight-face. "And there's none of that between myself and Iris either."

"Yeah, after all the years I've know him, I think of him more like the dad-I-never-had." Lydia chimed in.

"Oh, I bet you call him ' _daddy_ ' all the time." Kaz winked at her.

"I said, that's enough." Snake ordered.

"Alright, alright. Backing down." Kaz held up his hands in defeat. "It was good while it lasted. Oh! Do you mind if we make a stop in the nearest town? I need to get something."

"I don't mind." Lydia spoke.

"Hmm." Snake just nodded.

"Good! Thanks a lot." Kazuhira smiled.

The long hour had passed until we stopped in front of the convenient store about ten miles out from the outpost. "Well, here we are." Lydia announced, being the first to jump out of the truck. Kazuhira followed behind her…but no Snake. "Snake? You coming?"

"Nah."

"You want anything?"

"Well…if they have cigars…"

"Got it." Lydia nodded. Kazuhira placed his right hand on Lydia's back, guiding her into the store. "Hey!" She set herself free from his guidance.

"Ladies first." Kaz grinned. Lydia watched him walk to a small tower filled with sunglasses. Once he arrived at his destination, he was twirling it around in circles…wanting to find some type of specific pair. "Ah." Lydia raised an eyebrow as he raised some brownish-lensed aviators with golden frames. He placed them over his eyes and turned to Lydia with a goofy grin on his face. "So, Iris, how do I look?"

"Uhhhhh complete?" She said simply, keeping an eye on his face.

"You see, I lost my old ones before you guys showed up last week…and now I've got these lovely babies back again." He took them off, squinting his blue eyes at the sudden change in lighting. He placed some currency on the counter; instantly a happier man when the glasses found their way to the bridge of his nose.

"Hmm, it seemed like something about you was missing." Lydia lightly laughed. "I guess _that_ was it."

"You were thinkin' about me, huh?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Nah, just observing." Lydia shrugged, approaching the counter. Her attention turned to the employee standing at bay. "Do you have any cigars?"

"No." The employee responded. "We were all bought out. We'll get more next week."

"Next week?" Lydia frowned. "Man, Snake isn't gonna be happy about this one."

"Guess he's gonna have to conserve." Kaz laughed.

"Snake conserve cigars? Nah, that's something that will never ever happen." Lydia rolled her eyes. "Are we done here?"

"Yeah." Kaz and Lydia both walked out and back to the truck. In the bed, Lydia spotted the relaxed Snake whom hadn't moved an inch.

"Sorry Snake, no cigars." His mouth slightly twitched as he let out a long groan.

"This could be a sign for you to quit." Kaz said nonchalantly.

"Nah, I'll find some back at the outpost." Snake replied, slightly disappointed.

A half-hour had passed until they were back at the outpost safe and sound. Lydia jumped from the truck and stretched her arms into the sky, letting out a big yawn. "I'm gonna go to sleep." She announced.

"Mind if I join you?" Kaz questioned…not too sure if he was being flirty or not.

"Sure?" She glanced back at him. "I'm pretty sure there's an extra cot in there."

"Alright." He sounded slightly defeated.

"Snake." Lydia noticed him walking to the strong-hold. "You going to the commander?"

"Yeah." He nodded.

"Alright, see you tomorrow." He nodded his head a second time and continued off on his own.

"So, Iris…shall we?" Kaz placed his hand on the small of her back, causing her to move forward.

"Hey!" She sped up, escaping his touch. "Don't touch me." She turned around, walking backwards; narrowing her eyes at the culprit.

"Alright, alright. Yes ma'am." He held up his hands, not-so-innocently. Lydia let him into a roomy tent that was split into different sections and took him to the area where she and Snake were staying.

"Oh well would you look at that." She walked to the corner of the room. "It looks like there's another cot like I predicted!" She picked up the bundle of bed materials and handed them to Kaz.

"Now where do you sleep? No offense to Snake, but I'd rather be closer to _you_ if you know what I mean."

"No…I don't know what you mean. And I'm right here." Lydia slid off her vest and belt, gently placing them on the floor at the foot of her futon. She sat down as Kaz threw together his sleeping area. Lydia pulled off her shoes and collapsed the rest of her body on the cushion below her. She instantly let out a sigh once her head hit the comfort of the pillow. "Have a nice evening Kaz." She shut her eyes, not wanting to make any extra effort to cover her clothed body with the covers.

"You too, Iris." He laughed a little.

"Lydia." She corrected him.

"Huh?"

"My name is Lydia. Iris is my code-name."

"Lydia, huh? You got a last name that goes with that, dear?"

"Matthews." She smiled with her lips, keeping her eyes closed.

"Ok. Well nice to meet you and goodnight Miss _Lydia_ _Matthews_."


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS franchise!**

 **Author's note: Thank you to everyone who subscribed to the story (and/or stopped by to take a peek). I'm having a pretty good week! Have you guys taken a look at the new MGSV Art Book? My heart was torn into shreds at some of the photos D: So despite being put down by my favorite franchise, here's another early chapter for ya! :3 Enjoy!**

 **Guest K:** Bandits were the fav lol. I'm happy you enjoyed the last chapter! Kaz's pervertedness isn't even letting up any time soon, and quite frankly, I love writing his character and Ocelot so much. Actually, I freakin love writing everyone! Especially when it comes to comic relief and scenes with high tension! And I think it's good that I don't know who that person is! lol But I will take your word for it, haha! I'm not going to answer your MSF question, that's deep within Spoiler City! lol :D

 **CaptainMc:** I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter! Since you mentioned it so many chapters ago, I'm almost curious to know what your conspiracy theories are, haha! But don't tell me! When something happens, I want to be surprised by your reaction! :D lol

 **MATURE CONTENT WARNING:** Kazuhira Miller and his sexual content shenanigans.

* * *

 **"He say 'I know you, you know me'.**

 **One thing I can tell you,**

 **Is you got to be free.**

 **Come together, r** **ight now,**

 **Over me."**

 **-The Beatles**

* * *

Lydia opened her eyes to a few gunshots coming from outside the tent. "Good morning to you too, executions." She sat up and looked to her immediate left witnessing Snake and Kaz in the _middle_ of getting dressed. Their muscles were intense…not to mention abs that could grill anything that touched them. Toned calves, thighs, and _glutes_. _No! Stop staring! This is weird!_ Lydia felt blood rush to her head as she instantly covered her face before they could catch her red-handed. "Guys?!" She called out, at least letting them know she was awake.

"Huh?"

"Oh good morning there, Lydia. Did you see something worth-while?" Kaz snickered. "I could show you more, if you'd like."

"No. No. No."

"Kaz, behave yourself." Snake grunted from across the room.

"Heh, just having some fun. I love seeing girls embarrassed."

"Lydia, you can open your eyes now." Snake clarified. She dropped her hands from her face and returned her eyes to the two men who were dressed in some basic fatigues.

"Well if you guys wouldn't mind?" Lydia raised an eyebrow, now wanting to get changed herself.

"Did you need any help?" Kaz urged.

"No." Lydia responded with a straight face. "Now get out."

"Better do what the lady says, Kaz." Snake chuckled, walking out of the tent-room.

"Yell for me if you need anything." Kaz winked, following Snake out of the area. _Jeez, he sure is spry._ Lydia sighed and changed her clothes. She readjusted her blonde hair into a high-ponytail. Her attire consisted of a plain white tee with brown cargo pants. She strapped on her tactical vest, placing weapons and other items in their corresponding pockets. After equipping her brown combat boots, she waltzed out of the tent ready for their adventure.

Before her, there was quite the scene! A line of soldiers were at attention in front of Snake…about twenty men; all whom had worked with him before. "Boss! Take us with you!" Lydia walked to Snake's free side, looking at every individual's face. Each and every one of them had been swayed by The Boss' charisma…it was truly fascinating.

"Heh." The Boss crossed his arms. "Each and every one of you have proven your loyalty to me through these past months. As you know, I have spoken with your commander. Those standing before me have been pardoned for leaving their posts. As of now, you are my comrades. I've seen you in battle, I've seen you train, and I see a bright future for all of you while under my command. All those months ago, you were hand-picked by me for the destruction of the rebel faction mission…and now you are all selected by me, once again, to continue your future as a part of my P.F.. An army without a nation…Militaires Sans Frontières."

"Yes Boss!" All of them saluted their commanding officer.

"Militaires Sans Frontières, huh?" Kaz placed his hand to his chin.

"Has a nice ring to it." Lydia smiled, leaning in front of Snake to see the look on his face. Having a name to something made it more official...one wouldn't just give birth to a nameless baby, right?

"Gather the things most important to you. We're headed out to the coast within the hour." Snake ordered.

"Sir!" The infantry dispersed rapidly to try and gather everything into their packs as quickly as possible.

"Please don't tell me we're gonna _walk_ all the way there?" Lydia complained. There was no way she wanted a repeat of the long journey from Cortagena to this location.

"Lucky for you, I convinced the commander to set us up with a few cargo trucks." Kaz gloated.

" _You_?"

"Why do you sound so surprised? I am a business man, you know." Kaz shrugged. "I decided to ambush the boss while he was chatting it up with the commander last night and got a swift word in."

"Well gee…thanks?" Lydia laughed.

"Hnngh, you're lucky he had just agreed to your pardon. You have some balls." Snake began to walk to the edge of the camp.

"Well, thanks to you, I suppose we can make it to the coast in one piece." Lydia held out her hand for Kaz to shake.

"Is that a _compliment_ I hear from you, Miss Matthews?" He extended his arm and grabbed a hold, giving her hand a firm shake in return.

"Don't push it." She laughed, her right eyebrow twitching up.

"I'll grow on you, just you wait." She could tell he winked under his sunglasses, which earned him a sigh in response.

"Only time will tell." Lydia retracted her hand then proceeded to follow Snake.

"Snake!" She called out, jogging to close the distance. "Can I inquire where we're going?"

"When I first arrived in Colombia, there was this merchant who was selling a chain of private bungalows where the Rio Canas meets the Caribbean Sea."

"That far up north, huh? We're gonna be on the road for a while." Lydia wined.

"We'll be hopping around a lot. I don't want the CIA to get on our tail."

"I think it will do us good to stay on the coast." Kazuhira butted in out of nowhere. "That way, we have unlimited access to food."

"He's right." Lydia admitted, nodding her head in agreement.

"If you two were going to listen instead of run your mouths, I would have gotten to that already." Snake crossed his arms.

"Whoops." Lydia covered her mouth, looking at Kazuhira who only nervously grinned at Snake's comment.

"We'll stay on the coast. My plan is to buy out a multitude of places and travel to them every couple of months."

"With what money?" Lydia cut him off.

"Leave that to me." Kazuhira chimed in, pointing his thumb to his chest proudly.

"You're telling me you're rich?"

"Nah, I can just strike a mean deal."

Lydia rolled her eyes then looked back at The Boss. "Sorry Snake, continue." She waved him on.

"Ahem." He cleared his throat and lit up a cigar. "We'll start off with the men we have now. I'll hand pick any additional persons we want to bring on our posse. I think for now, twenty-three is a good number."

"Agreed." Kaz smiled.

"Seconded." Lydia crossed her arms. "I'm going to get my pack from the tent. Be back in a flash."

"Got 'cha." Snake acknowledged, sending Lydia off. On her way back, a familiar twinge of pain shot her in the left thigh, making her slow her pace.

"Ow?" She looked down and placed her hand on her thigh. "I guess my muscle isn't too happy with me right now." Lydia sighed, proceeding to limp into the tent. Her left leg was sending off dull pain signals, not enough to cripple…but it sure was annoying. Her limp was going to be more prominent now…and she didn't feel like answering any personal questions. Lydia swung her brown bag over her left shoulder their returned to the two trucks outside the base.

"Driver tells me it's gonna be a twelve hour drive."

"Better than a week's-worth of walking." Lydia retorted to Snake's news. "I'm all set. Quite frankly, I'm going to set next to the driver on this one. I don't feel like being cramped in between a dozen men if you know what I mean."

"Good idea. They probably haven't touched a woman in a long time." Kaz pointed his index finger to the sky. "You don't have to worry about that from me tho. I could make you feel _nice_ and _comfortable_."

"I'd rather not." Lydia's eyes narrowed. _I can't believe this guy, he's always on a roll no matter how many times he's turned down._ Lydia tried her best to mask the limp on the way to the passenger's seat of one of the trucks. She opened the door and threw her pack in the middle to separate her from the driver. Once she hoisted herself up, she awaited the rest of the group to take leave.

Before the hour was up, the newly formed MSF was en route to their destination to the north. Granted, making a few pit stops made them two hours behind schedule for the guys who didn't know how to hold their bladder. Lydia took it upon herself to sleep the majority of the ride. By midnight, the troupe made it to their goal and set camp on the beach.

The excitement was high within Lydia, causing her to have another sleepless night. She stood on the shore, staring out into the moon-lit sea. The sight was truly beautiful…finally everything was coming together. "Can't sleep, huh?" Lydia turned her head to spot Kaz walking to her position. "It sure is beautiful out here."

"Yeah…" Lydia smiled, looking back to the horizon. "I think I slept too much on the truck." She admitted, scratching the back of her head.

"Well you did say you haven't gotten a lot of sleep lately…so good for you." He nudged her arm with his elbow.

"Tch." Lydia formed a half-smile from him gesture. She looked to her right and up at Kaz…noticing that he was _still_ wearing his sun glasses. Did he forget that he was wearing them? _I'd better not say anything…might embarrass the poor lad._

"So…Lydia…" He snapped her out of her gaze. "What did you do before this?"

"Me? Well, nothing really. I helped run a coffee shop in Cartagena." She sounded slightly proud. Kaz shoved his hands in his pockets after brushing back his blonde hair.

"Wow, really now? I never would have guessed." Kaz lightly laughed, turning his body toward the ocean. "I guess whenever I need a cup of coffee I should come to you."

Lydia smiled. "Yep. It was nearly beaten into me on how to make a decent roast from scratch. The owners of the café were very dedicated to say the least."

"So why did you turn away from the art of coffee?"

"The art of coffee…ha." Lydia let out a small laugh, earning a smile from Kaz. "I told myself that if Snake ever found me that I would work for him…no questions asked. And here I am."

"Here. You. Are." Kaz emphasized, stepping closer to her.

"Yep…here I am." She happily shrugged. "What about you, Kaz?"

"What _about_ me?"

"What do you _think_?" Lydia sassily rolled her eyes. "What did you do before you got into the rebel forces? There's gotta be more than what the boss says, right?"

"Now that's no fair." Kaz pointed to the sky. "You know more about me than what I know about you." He crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Let me ask you a few more questions, huh?"

Lydia exhaled in defeat. "Alright Kaz. What've you got?"

"Well…let's see…favorite color?"

"It's gonna be one of _those_?" Lydia quietly chuckled.

"What? I'm curious, ok?" Kaz grinned.

"Green."

"Just like your eyes…how about favorite musical artist?"

"Uhh…I'm not really a fan of Spanish music…but over the radio I always liked listening to Elton John?"

"Ah, Elton John, good choice." He nodded. "You told me you were from America…but where in America?"

"Denver, Colorado." She responded simply. "How about you? Where are you from?" Lydia interjected with her own question.

"Yokosuka in Japan."

"When you told me and Sake you came all the way from Japan I kinda didn't believe it." Lydia lightly laughed. "What's with your blonde hair and blue eyes, then? That's pretty unusual for Japanese origin."

" _Tell_ me about it. I used to get made fun of all the time from other kids I grew up around. My father was American…blonde hair, blue eyes…I take after him. I guess his traits were more dominant?"

"Nah, you're just one of a kind."

"You think so, huh?" Kaz took another small step toward her. _Where the hell did THAT come from? Why am I throwing out compliments like that?!_ Lydia wanted to slap herself in the face. _THINK before you TALK, Lydia!_

"Sure?" Was all she could muster out. "I mean…ah _crap_ walked myself into that one." Lydia nervously laughed, rubbing her right arm with her left hand.

"You in a relationship?"

"Me? Nah, haven't really had the time." Lydia admitted. "I dated a few guys back when I was working for the café, but none of them really peaked my interest."

"Hmmm, interesting." Kaz raised his eyebrow. "Ever had sex?"

"What?!" Lydia nearly fell over from the straightforward question. "What kind of question is _that_?!"

" _Ahhh_ …" Kaz lifted his glasses up and rested them on top of his head. "I can see right through you, Lydia." Kaz's blue eyes were staring into the depths of her soul. Was he just working up to ask her that this whole time?! And here she was beginning to think he wasn't too bad wanting to get to know his new comrade.

"I see what type of game you're trying to play and it's not going to work." Lydia snapped out of her flustered state and crossed her arms. "You're not getting the answer to that question."

"But I already have it." He chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. "I know a virgin when I see one." Lydia felt her face turn hot. She wasn't sure if it was rage or embarrassment, but no doubt it was flaring red. "Awh, you're so cute when you're angry." Lydia took a single step toward him, balled up her left fist then punched him right across his cheek! His head completely snapped in the opposite direction!

Lydia retracted her hand and shook it out, releasing some of the throbbing sensation. "Hmph." She turned away from Kaz and walked to the west…anywhere as long as it was away from that pervert!

A few meters out Lydia stopped and examined her surroundings. She could still see the fires set up by the soldiers, so she wasn't too far out. Once again, she turned to the ocean…but this time she was greeted by an arm snaking it's way into her peripheral vision! "What the?!" Lydia shot her right arm up to block the potential choke-hold. She pivoted on her right leg to catch the assailant's hand just in time before a knife could have collided with her throat.

Lydia's left leg caved from under her, causing the perpetrator to twist her around and pin her to the rough sand below them. A foreign popping noise traveled into her eardrums as her left shoulder was thrown out of it's socket. "Ah!" She sharply inhaled at the pain. It felt as if her skin and muscles were the only things holding onto her limb. Lydia was able to turn her head to the left so she could breathe without sand flying into her mouth. Her eyes scanned the body of the man, not able to get a good look at his face.

The man's grip was lost on her arm for only a moment when Lydia decided to barrel-roll away. She swiftly rose to her feet and upholstered her knife from her belt only to point it at the one and only Snake. Grin on his face and _everything_. "Snake?! What the _actual_ hell?" She put her own knife away and brought her right hand to her left shoulder.

"Always be on your guard, Lydia." He scolded, crossing his arms across his chest.

"You mean, always be paranoid for the rest of my fucking life?" She wined. "Jesus. You wanna pop my shoulder back into place for me?"

"No. You do it."

"…" Lydia raised her eyebrow at him. "Come again?"

"Back then I don't think I taught you to treat injuries like that yourself." He sheathed his knife away. "It's an essential, especially if you're out on the battle field on your own."

"No…you didn't. But did that lesson really have to start right now?!"

"Pain is always a surprise." Lydia let out a long sigh.

"Alright, tell me how so I don't fuck anything up."

"I had to put mine into place once by using a tree." He said nonchalantly.

"A…tree…" She looked beyond him and to the dense forrest that cut of the ocean from the rest of the world. "Ok." Lydia proceeded to walk to the closest trunk, followed by Snake.

"Lift up your forearm to a ninety-degree angle and rest it against the tree. You want your biceps to be perpendicular with your shoulder." Lydia followed his directions…knowing what came next. "And jolt forward. You should hear another pop."

"Ugh. I don't want to do this." Lydia complained, closing her eyes.

"It only hurts for a second." _Easy for you to say._ Lydia wanted to be as sassy as she could. Anything to save her from the inevitable. With minimal notice to her conscience, she crammed her arm into the tree-trunk as hard as she could, hearing _and_ feeling the pop that Snake was gloating about. Lydia inhaled sharply as Snake patted her on the back a few times.

"Ow, you _son_ of a bitch." She opened her eyes into a squint, slowly rotating her left shoulder. "What are you doing all the way out here anyway?"

"I could be asking you the same thing." Snake retorted.

"Oh _me_? I was just escaping from Master Pervert before I got _jumped_!"

"Master Pervert? You mean Kaz?"

" _Yes,_ I mean _Kaz_." Lydia rolled her eyes at the mention of his name.

"Heh. He is a spry one that's for sure."

"My thoughts exactly." Lydia made her way back toward the ocean.

"I spoke with the merchant. He's giving us the land for free. Turns out he likes our cause."

"Huh? Nice guy." Lydia said matter-of-factly.

"It looks like we'll be moving in the morning." _Finally_. Lydia thought to herself. _We can finally get this Militaires Sans Frontières started. Things will be slow at first…but in no time, I could see us becoming the strongest PF there is. With Snake around…there's no doubt that we could succeed at anything that comes out way._

* * *

 ** _WOOOOOOO MSF!_**


	23. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise!**

 **Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who subscribed (and/or stopped by to take a peek)! Here is the next chapter; I hope you enjoy! :3**

 **Guest K:** "Pain is a surprise" ha, freakin words of wisdom right there! Right when I read your MSF comment for last chapter, I was all "well, I guess it's in THIS chapter...but I can't say 'WOOO MSF' yet, so I'll save that till the end!" xD lol

 **CaptainMc** : I recommend it 100%. PW is SO good and it just makes GZ and V that more painful to get through. :( I'm really happy you're enjoying it so far and there is much more to come! :)

* * *

 **"Where will it lead us from here?**

 **With no lovin' in our souls,**

 **And no money in our coats."**

 **-The Rolling Stones**

* * *

The line of bungalows wasn't entirely impressive. They looked like run-down, storm-damaged shacks. There were four of them, all different sizes but enough to give the basics…room…board…and that was all really. Lydia wore a seemingly perpetual frown, expecting something a little nicer. At least Snake scored the poor houses for free. Lydia and Snake overlooked the pitiful scene before them, pondering what to do with their lives next.

"Boss!" A random soldier bolted into view holding onto a piece of paper. Snake gave the man his attention as soon as he was flashed with the image that was on it. "Before I joined the government, I wanted to be an artist!" Lydia waltzed over from her stationary position to Snake who was rather impressed by what was on the paper. "I was so moved by joining, I was up all night trying to create a logo for us and I got it!"

"Iris." He motioned for Lydia to take a look. She stood to Snake's right side and examined the paper that was plastered with a master-piece!

"You came up with this?" Lydia raised her eyebrow. The soldier had come up with the perfect logo for their PF! The back-drop was a half black and yellow circle with a skull smack-dab in the middle of it.

"Yes! The skull is a symbol for Boss. See? I left a spot for an eyepatch on it's right eye! I attempted to draw out Pangaea in the skull for the contours…it's a perfect symbol for an army without borders don't you think?"

"It's…perfect." Snake blinked, handing the paper back to the soldier. "What's your name?"

"Roberto Garcia, sir!"

"Hmmm…Roberto, huh? From now on you'll answer as Raven."

"I get a _code_ _name_?!" This _Roberto_ was too excited for his own good. Lydia almost wanted to laugh. _How these guys look at Snake reminds me too much of the Ocelots._ Lydia's facial features fell until Snake spoke up.

"Raven I have your first mission. You're going to make signs and badges for us. It's time to start showing the world who we are."

"Y-Yes Boss!" The man saluted. Snake nodded and gave the paper back to the gleeful individual. He skipped away, off to a new adventure!

"I like it." Lydia admitted, crossing her arms.

"Hmm, that reminds me…" Snake started. "I need to assign code names."

"Oh…for sure!" Lydia agreed. "They _all_ need to feel special." Lydia laughed to herself. The men were tidying up the mess or litter and other miscellaneous junk that engulfed the homes. Snake placed a single hand on Lydia's right shoulder before taking off to pursue more boss-ly things. Lydia kept her eyes on his back before her trance was interrupted by a familiar voice.

"It's only a matter of time before we get rolling." Kaz. Lydia's body turned to see the man himself waltzing up behind her. "Then we can start reeling in the small jobs until we can afford to take on larger operations."

"You've _really_ planned this out, huh?" Kaz shrugged and shot Lydia a grin.

"I suppose. Oh! I almost forgot I had a question for you." Lydia kept a straight face, while looking at Kazuhira's.

"Oh yeah? And what would that be?"

"No need to be that way." Kaz scratched the back of his head. "Did Snake give you a position yet?"

"…No…matter of fact he has not." Lydia placed her right hand to her chin, looking to Snake who was still giving out code names.

"Well, _I'm_ the Commander."

" _You_?"

"What's with that tone?" Kaz wined.

"Nothing…just…surprised." Lydia rolled her eyes. "Are you just bragging to me because of your title?"

"Maybe." Lydia sighed at his answer.

"With every moment I spend with you, I am finding it more confusing how Snake let you in MSF." Lydia began walking away from the nuisance.

"That's not very lady-like, Lydia!" Lydia just lifted up her arm and waved without turning around.

She had decided to escape the proximity of Miller and help the guys clean up the area once Snake was finished assigning code-names. Days had passed and there was still no word from Snake on the title she would carry. She wasn't jealous of Miller…was she? In any case, the date had fallen on November 14, 1972…a day Lydia wouldn't dare let slip from her mind.

* * *

 **November 14, 1972: 20:00**

The waves were rocking in the strong winds, the tide finally coming in after a long day. It felt like Lydia was standing on the coast for nearly an hour, recollecting her thoughts for these past few weeks. MSF was coming along nicely enough to finally call it a home…still in progress…but it was home. Earlier in the morning, Snake had given her a message sent by Raven to meet him for some kind of _lecture_. Nerves were tingling rapidly through her just like a river after the rain. "Lydia…" The voice of Miller sounded off from behind her. "You should get inside, it's going to storm soon…and besides, Boss is waiting for you. You don't want to keep him waiting."

"Yeah, alright." Lydia sighed, turning toward the blonde who was attempting to keep his styled hair in place. Lydia's eyes stayed on Kaz's face for a moment, noticing he was still wearing his sunglasses… _after_ the fact that the sun had set. She hadn't noticed that he kept his eyes hidden under those aviators almost ninety-eight percent of their time together. And at night? Lydia internally sighed and wanted to say something…but it just wasn't worth it. Lydia nodded to herself and walked past Kaz, who followed her inside the main bungalow. In the middle of the room was a simple table and four chairs…dull to say the least but it was enough to get business done.

"Boss." She greeted the man sitting in one of the chairs beyond the table.

"Have a seat." He motioned to one of the chairs placed in front of him. "As you are aware, I've been assigning code-names…" Lydia took a seat and nodded to confirm his statement. "After a long time of thinking, I finally have you official title and position for our faction."

"Really?" She questioned with a smile, watching Kazuhira plop in the seat right next to Snake.

"You got it." Kaz confirmed.

"I want you to be commander." Snake crossed his arms.

"Commander? Isn't that Miller's title?" Lydia raised an eyebrow, leaning back in her chair. "Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful, Snake. But aren't two commanders too many for twenty people?"

"Not at all." Kaz answered for Snake. "I mean, if I'm taking care of the business end of things, you should take care of everything else. It's a dual effort on our parts. You'll have a key part to handle the intelligence, maintenance, and field operations. With the both of us working together under Snake, there's nearly nothing we wouldn't be able to accomplish." Kaz winked from across the table. _Is that necessary?_

"Lydia, as your C.O., I want you to be our tactical specialist. I want you teach our troops hard and soft skills so they can carry them into battle. The men will address you as sub-commander. Think of yourself as sharing a branch with Kaz, here."

"If it's a _long_ branch…" Lydia rolled her eyes.

"Awh, don't be like that." Kaz wined.

"Calm down you two. Lydia, you have what it takes to go above and beyond, you've proven that to me on multiple accounts since our meeting. So…what do you say?"

"Of course, Snake." Lydia smiled. "I told you I was in this one-hundred percent, right?"

"Good. Glad to have you on board, Commander Matthews." Snake extended his hand from across the table as Lydia almost immediately took it in her own.

Things were rolling right along! Kazuhira had managed to get his sly hands on a few cargo trucks within the past few months. Not too sure where he got the money from, but that was nothing for Lydia to worry about. She had her line of men whom already dedicated their lives away to work for Snake. They proved it once at the guerrilla surprise party when they found Kazuhira and they had again by becoming the very first members of MSF. Lydia and Snake had trained them hard enough to notice a drastic change in their demeanor and attitude…it kinda seemed like teaching children who had just entered into a kindergarten class. Snake had taken liking to the troops' new-founded determination toward their new commander.

It wasn't because Lydia was a woman…she gave the highest respect toward each of those troops and treated them like the family she never had. Her attitude and professionalism was something she had gained from Snake and followed suit to showing it to the soldiers that now stood before her. Every one of them had grown stronger day by day, and it wasn't long until Kazuhira had found their first official operation. It was a simple execution from the government: disarming and destroying a small enemy infantry assigned by the Colombian rebels.

Word spread that MSF was _finally_ in official business…and business, for small jobs, was good. Lydia would take turns leading a few expeditions then go back to training. Every day was different experience and a new learning opportunity to better herself not only for MSF but for The Boss.

A full year flew by in the blink of an eye. Snake was right when he warned that the base would have to be moving frequently along to coast. It was now October of 1973. There were a plethora of crisis going on around the world that affected business…for better of for worse. An oil crisis had arisen. The United States oil production started to drastically decline, causing a massive inflation of oil prices. At the beginning of the month, Syria and Egypt had launched a surprise attack on Yom Kippur in Israel. The war had somehow released the pressure on oil prices around the world.

The first offer MSF had declined, under direct order from Snake, came from the US in regards to this issue. On October 12, US President Nixon authorized Operation Nickel Grass to deliver weapons and supplies to Israel after the Soviet Union began sending arms to Syria and Egypt. There was a third party that had confronted Kazuhira to relay the operation to Snake. This was a power-play Snake didn't want MSF involved in…and rightfully so. He would be picking sides and eventually be put back on a leash from the US government, which was probably the main thing he or Lydia didn't want…even with MSF being so small.

Besides, there were more dire things to notate. In the same month, a mysterious armed force had invaded Costa Rica with a pretty impressive army. Drug production in Costa Rica was on the rise with suspected ties to the KGB.

October 31, 1973, Lydia was confronted by Kazuhira while Snake was absent on some solo mission regarding the status of the Sandinista National Liberation Front of Costa Rica. Lydia had been resting on the beach of their new location at Barranquilla Coast. Looking out into the vast ocean, Kazuhira coughed to grab her attention. "Trick or treat?"

Lydia sighed and turned to look at the blonde, holding out a generic chocolate candy bar for her to grab. "I thought I was supposed to say that?" She laughed, taking the bar from his hand. "Thanks Kaz." Kaz hummed to himself then stood to her right side. "So, what's up? You got something for me?" Lydia fumbled with the wrapper waiting for Kaz's response.

"Yeah, I do actually. The mission is meant for Snake, but I told the client we had someone that was _equally_ capable for the job." He nudged her arm.

"Awh you told them that? Thanks, haha." She took a bite out of the bar. "So? Don't keep me in suspense here."

"Oh right, well it's a long trip but Costa Rican special forces is calling again. It seems it might be tied to the intel mission Snake is on right now." Lydia finished the chocolate bar and turned her full attention to the briefing.

"If it is, then this Costa Rica thing is bigger than we thought." Lydia scratched her head.

"How about I tell you about it over dinner?" Kaz firmly planted his hands on his hips. "You know, I found this really good place a few miles into the city…I think you _may_ like it." Lydia rolled her eyes at his request which earned a audible sigh from Kaz. "Oh come on, why are you always like that?"

"Kazuhira Miller, I see how you are with the ladies. I'm not going to fall for your scheme. I'd rather just hear about the mission _without_ dinner involved, please?"

"Alright, alright. You know, you are the most difficult woman I've ever had to be around." Kaz scratched the back of his head.

"Thank you." Lydia spoke proudly.

"Wait you're _aware_ that you're difficult? How self-aware can you be?" Kaz comically wined.

"Many moons ago, you told me yourself once: 'Now I see why you don't have a husband'…or something like that. You've known it all along, Kaz, and yet you're still surprised." Lydia laughed and softly punched him in the arm. Kaz shot her a smiled and adjusted his sunglasses.

"Wow, I can't believe you remember that! Show's how much I make a lasting impression." Kaz winked.

"Just get to the chase, Kaz." Lydia spoke, wanting to cut the small talk.

"Well, let's not waste any more time. Follow me." Kaz turned around, Lydia contently following behind him. Upon walking into their main business bungalow, Kaz sat down in one of the chairs. "So, Lydia. Apparently there's something fishy going on over in a mining facility. The United States CIA is worried that it's another large drug production stronghold. They want someone, you, to go in there and seize the employees and their boss…if at all possible that is."

"You think the KGB is is at it again?" Lydia raised an eyebrow, sitting down in front of him. "Damn they're persistent."

"Possibly. Now I'm saying the layout I gave you was ideal. They said they would just be happy with intel…they kind of were put off since Snake isn't taking care of it."

"Well…" Lydia crossed her arms and legs. "I suppose I'll just have to prove them wrong, I'll take it. Is that all the information we have?"

"I'm dry on anything else." Lydia nodded. "I'll arrange transport, you'll be heading to San Carlos. It's just over seven-hundred miles. You ready for a long drive?"

"Sure." Lydia said blankly. "If you want to get that started, I'll get my gear ready." Lydia stood up from her chair, Kaz following suit. Lydia walked toward her assigned hut, putting on a camouflage uniform for heavy greenery as well as a harness that stepped around her torso. Upon walking back outside, a cargo truck was waiting for her. Raven was sitting in the driver's seat, patiently waiting for the sub-commander.

"Since this is a stealth mission, we're going to have to sneak you across the borders…sorry." Kaz spoke lightheartedly.

"I have no beef with that."

"You have your radio?"

"Mmmhmmm." She waltzed up to the truck.

"Ok, I'll be in contact with you throughout. I have the tracker turned on, so if you need anything…we'll come running."

"Driving would be faster." Lydia winked. "I'll see you when I get back, Kaz." Lydia crawled into the back of the truck. She pivoted to place her hand on the tie that was keeping the tarp above her. She looked at Kaz who was just standing there with his hands in his pockets with a grin plastered across his face. "What?" She stopped herself from closing the tarp.

"Oh nothing. It just sounded like you were going to miss me." Lydia felt heat rise to her cheeks at his comment.

"Keep dreaming!" Lydia pulled the string on the tarp, having it violently shut to cut off Kazuhira's laughing behind the curtain. Lydia sat on her butt and crossed her legs, bringing her palms up to her face. "What was that?" She mumbled into her hands. Within moments the truck's engine turned over causing the bed to rumble beneath her. Lydia adjusted herself and flushed her back against the base of the truck, extending her legs out in front of her. "You better watch it Lydia, you're sending messages you're not too sure you want to send." Lydia shut her eyes, feeling the truck take off. _Now if only HE was here to tell me that to my face one more time. I wonder what you're up to…_


	24. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise!**

 **Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who subscribed (and/or stopped by to take a peek)! :D I have an important update! I have changed the release date for future chapters for Tuesdays instead of Mondays, just because it works better with my work schedule! :) Like I alway say, if you do have a question about a future chapter, please refer to my profile where I like the "Next Anticipated" release dates. :3 As always, enjoy the new chapter and I'll see you next week!**

 **Rook115:** Thank you for submitting the review! What ARE the chances? I'm not too sure myself...I would say one in a million. But the Cubs did win the World Series and the Dallas Cowboys are 10-1, SO there's that. Ocelot is locked deep within Lydia's side of Spoiler City and I lost my key to get in D: Blast!

 **Guest K:** Raven is the real MVP! I have a ton of plans for that guy in future chapters! Hopefully Lydia doesn't mess it up this time around xD

 **CaptainMc:** Kick ass? I guess we'll find out! ;D

* * *

 **"My eyes are blind but I can see,**

 **The snowflakes glisten on the tree.**

 **The sun no longer sets me free,**

 **I feel there's no place freezing me."**

 **-Black Sabbath**

* * *

 **November 2, 1973**

Raven, who happened to be the lucky bloke who volunteered for transport, took his sweet time carting Lydia across the country. When he wanted a nap, he would stop and take a nap. If they wanted something to chow on…well he would stop somewhere and get something for the both of them. Raven was a pro, no one even looked inside the truck at any time during the ride. But now it was time for business. They made it to the drop-off around 16:00 on November 2. Lydia hopped out of the truck and was greeted by a plethora of vast greenery. Lydia twisted her back side to side, loosening up any tightened muscles. She grabbed her radio, hooking up an earpiece to receive messages. She turned it on, making sure the tracker was active as well.

Lydia tuned to the accurate frequency before chiming in to base. "Miller, this is Iris. I've made it." There was a moment or two of silence before Kazuhira chimed in over the other end.

"Good to hear your voice, Iris. I was starting to get worried."

"You? Worried? Nah, we just took our time." Lydia laughed. "So, now that we're at the drop-off…"

"Right." Kazuhira continued her thought. "The mining plantation is going to be up north." Lydia took out a small compass from one of her pockets, examining which way to go before she placed it back in it's corresponding pocket. "Sorry, but you're gonna have to take a nice hike."

"Through a dense forest? No biggie, this just reminds me of my days in '64." She joked.

"Well…in that case you will have no problem getting there. From my radar, you're about ten miles out. You better get moving before you lose the light, you infiltration will more than likely take place once the sun sets."

"For sure." Lydia spoke, limbering up her legs. "Anything else?"

"Uhhhh…no?"

"Good. I'll call you if I need any advice." All Lydia heard was radio silence before muting her transmitter. Lydia took her tranquilizer pistol out of her harness and dug through one of her pockets; grabbing a suppressor out and screwing it on to the end of the barrel. She placed the silenced weapon back into her holster and turned toward Raven, who had crawled out of the truck during her briefing. "You gonna be here when I get back?"

"I hope that's a joke." He sighed, scratching the back of his head.

"It is." Lydia winked. "I'll probably see you in the morning. If all goes well, I'll radio you so you can take the main route there…or…well whatever path is best."

"No doubt you'll succeed. Good luck Sub-C." He saluted.

"No need for the salute; we're all friends here. Thanks, Raven." She nodded, turning toward the north. "Time to get my walk on." She inhaled deeply before setting off further into the dense forest.

There wasn't a boring sight at all. All kinds of animal calls were echoing all around her; the fluttering of birds and the leaves from the trees was almost too peaceful for the next two and a half hours. The air grew thin due to the drastic change in elevation; honestly, it reminded her a little _too_ much of the USSR. The sun had set just in time for her to reach the compound nearing 19:00. Lydia found herself at the break in forestation and looking out into a clearing littered with mining equipment. She knelt on her right knee and turned on her mic to reach Kaz.

"Kaz, do you copy? I made it to the facility." Lydia simultaneously took out her binoculars. "I'm doing some recon as we speak."

"Good, glad to hear. Apparently, what the DEA told me, the majority of the drugs are being packed underground in the mine."

"Can you remind me what drugs? I don't think you told me in the briefing."

"Cocaine."

"Ahhhh, prefect." Lydia popped her lips, annunciating the 'p'. Through her binoculars, she spotted a few armed individuals dressed in KGB attire. Their emblem standing out like a sore thumb. "Looks like the DEA wasn't kidding either. I've got a few KGBs standing guard. Who knows how many are underground." She scanned the area for places to take cover. It was barren, so there wouldn't be too many placed to hide until she was actually inside the facility.

"Keep your comms on. I want to hear everything."

"You _would_ want to hear everything."

"What can I say? I love a woman at work." Lydia's eye twitched beneath the scope.

"Oh yeah? And I can just see your stupid grin through my binoculars." The corner of Lydia's lips twitched upwards, placing her scope back into it's pocket.

"It's nice to know you have me memorized." Lydia exhaled dramatically.

"I'm gonna stop talking to you now." She dully responded, not wanting to work herself more into the trap she was digging herself into. Lydia readied herself, slapping her face between both of her palms. "Here we go." Lydia sprinted toward the compound, taking advantage of the night's coverage. When she was nearing the well-lit compound, she slid into a crouch, taking cover behind a concrete barrier. She peeked her head over the tiny wall, spotting the two KGBs from earlier. Thankfully, they were absorbed into their own conversation and facing their back to her.

Lydia carefully jumped over the barrier. "Iris, just so you know, I let the client know you're in the area. They are on their way as we speak. The sooner you get everything under control, the better." Kaz chimed in. _People make mistakes when they're rushed. I'm going to take my damn time._ Lydia sucked in air between her teeth. In a crouched position, Lydia made her way closer to the two KGB agents. Once close enough, her eyes were set on the more scrawny gentleman on her right. She stood up straight, wrapping her left arm around his neck and taking her pistol out with her right. She quickly pointed it toward the male who was caught off guard at the scene.

The moment the man before her was reaching for his gun, she shot him in the neck with a tranquilizer round, instantly having him fall to the ground. The man in her grasp was trying everything in his power to break free until she placed her gun back in her holster and grabbed her combat knife. "You better stop struggling." He was jabbering in Russian, even with a knife held to his throat.

"Huh?" Lydia's concentration was interrupted by the vocalization of a third party coming from her left, toward the underground entrance. _Fuck._ The man under her grip started to groan louder. Lydia tightened her hold, beginning the process of cutting off his oxygen supply until unconscious. Lydia's head turned, eyeing the individual that was marching closer to them. Once the agent stopped squirming, she let him drop to the ground as quietly as possible. Lydia resumed crouching, and rolled her way behind another random concrete barricade. With the top of her head peeking over, her eyes were set on the third man jogging toward the two that were unresponsive.

While he was distracted, Lydia sat with her back flushed to the concrete, reached into a deep pocket and pulled out an empty magazine. She blindly tossed it away from the two and beyond a building. The magazine wasn't loud when it hit the ground, but effective enough to stop the KGB's attempt to waking up his friends. Lydia peeked over the cover to see the man start to investigate the source of the noise.

She took it upon herself to crouch-walk to him while his attention was on the odd noise. Pulling out her pistol, she flushed the silenced barrel up to his back. "Ah!" He yelped, immediately holding his hands up in the air.

"Where's your boss?" She pressed the gun into his back harder. He spoke, but not in English. There was no way in Hell he understood her. "Get down." She threatened. _That_ he understood. The man knelt and planted his body firmly on the ground with his hands above his head. "Don't you move." Holding her gun to her side, Lydia stood back up and glanced past the edge of the building. _Night-time means a minimal amount of soldiers._ She smiled to herself. _Won't be fucking it up this time!_

"You doing ok Iris?" Kaz asked over the radio.

"Mmmhmmm." She hummed quietly.

"I have to admit you sound pretty sexy over the comms."

"Kaz, don't make me turn this off." She whispered. Lydia jogged around, now that there were no guards on the surface to worry about. She could hear the commotion of people at work coming from a closed garage-door, leading into the mine below ground level. She stopped in front of the steel door then looked around. No sign of the DEA or any type of government officials…perfect. She placed her ear to the cold metal to hear a mix of Russian and Spanish banter. From the sounds of it, everyone beyond the door was hard at work. Against their will or otherwise.

Lydia looked below her to spot the handle to pull up the garage door…unfortunately, there was no sneaking into this an easy way. _Actually…_ An idea crossed her mind as she stood back up. She pivoted to her right to shield herself against the small concrete barrier that was keeping the door in place. "Kaz, just wanted to let you know I'm going to fire a round without a suppressor."

"And _why_ would you do that? This is a stealth mission, remember?"

"You see, there's only one way into the underground area where the drugs are. It's either I run in guns blazing, or I cause a distraction and sneak in while their attention isn't on the door opening all by itself. You got me?"

"Ahhhh, I see. Good thinking Iris."

"And I honestly don't want to go the loud route." Lydia scanned her surroundings while she was unscrewing the silencer from her pistol. Once done, she pointed the gun to the sky and shot off a bullet into the beyond. Once the loud bang erupted from the barrel, she began screwing the suppressor back on; making sure to check her ammo. Once reloaded, she stood by waiting for the door to slide open. She was waiting for what seemed like five minutes until the door finally unlatched and slid open. Lydia's head turned to her right to see three men exit the area.

Lydia puckered her lips and faintly whistled to capture their attention. "что это было?" ("What was what?"). A phrase Lydia heard often when she was down in the USSR. The one that spoke waved to the other two and decided to investigate the noise on his own. When the enemy was close enough, she took a hold of his shirt and violently dragged him toward her. She twisted him around and slammed his head into the concrete wall, instantly causing him to pass out on impact. Lydia pulled out her pistol and closed her attention on the two other men whom hadn't noticed the two other incapacitated comrades that were assigned to stand guard.

She aimed the gun and shot the both of them in the back of their necks with a tranquilizer round. It was only a matter of time before they passed out, which gave Lydia the advantage to move forward underground. She slid through the open door and found herself in the entrance of a tunnel that led straight to another closed door that, more than likely, barricaded the drugs. Luckily this one had a window on it.

Lydia swiftly jogged to the closed door and peeked in through small, rectangular window that was positioned at shoulder-height. Inside, she was able to pinpoint where all the chatter was coming from…as well as the drugs. TONS of drugs. _Just as I thought._ Stacked up in a very organized fashion, Lydia gulped at the sight of the towering cocaine production. Various individuals around the vicinity were working on packing it neatly in plastic and stacking it accordingly. _Dammit, with all that powder floating around in the air, I don't want to get a contact high._ Lydia jogged back outside of the concrete cover and up to the man she had slammed against the wall. She knelt down and found a black bandana on his person. "Excellent." Lydia congratulated herself. "Kaz, I found the drugs. From just eyeballing it, there's close to ten tons of cocaine in there, and still a lot to pack."

"Ten tons?! Are you serious?!"

"The DEA is gonna have a hay day when they get here." Lydia wrapped the bandana tightly around her nose and mouth, making sure to shield herself from any second-hand damage. "There's a lot of shit flying around in there with no ventilation, I had to find myself some protection. There's also about half a dozen KGB in there…more than likely, the leader of the band is in there somewhere."

"Be careful, Iris. The DEA should be there any minute with their squad."

"I'm making this so easy for them." Lydia also snagged the A.R. that was on the unconscious man's person then waltzed back into the compound with the lethal weapon in hand. "Kaz, I hope that they are paying us a lot of money for this. Cuz there's only one way in and I _really_ didn't want to go this way."

"Like you wouldn't believe." She could _hear_ his grin through the audio.

"Good." Lydia approached the door, readying the weapon at her side. She sharply inhaled and violently collided her right boot on the door. The door forcibly swung open before she was met with a sea of surprised faces and overwhelming haze of unpackaged cocaine.


	25. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise!**

 **Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who subscribed to the story! :) As I mentioned that the new release dates are Tuesdays...so here's the new chapter! :) Enjoy! :3**

 **CaptainMc:** So far! ;D

 **Guest K:** YAS RAVEN YAS lol. Send that man to the moon and get him some cotton candy! Heck yeah! I know one of your first reviews we were like "whoa! Two great minds think alike!" And here we are again lol xD

 **Rook115:** The ultimate tool in stealth technology! Nobody woulda noticed a damn thing *snaps*! lol I'm dead xD

* * *

 **"Why do stars fall down from the sky,**

 **Every time you walk by?**

 **Just like me, they long to be,**

 **Close to you."**

 **-Carpenters**

* * *

The air was overwhelmed with even _more_ cocaine powder due to the powerful swing of the metal door. Lydia raised her A.R. and swept into the room, her eyes meeting the shocked Costa Rican and Russian faces. "Bajan!" ("Get down!") Lydia called out to the workers. "Todos ustedes bajan ahora o come una bala!" ("All of you get down now or eat a bullet!"). The workers were disoriented, probably from working with all the cocaine, but the KGB soldiers were just fine! Her eyes started to sting from the debris floating in the air. It was a hot searing pain like she was in the middle of a sandstorm with no eye protectants. She had no choice but to keep her eyes open and aware, one slip up and she could get captured, dead, or cause a hell of a lot of trouble for the DEA.

While the staff was going bonkers, in Lydia's peripherals, she witnessed the KGB soldiers readying their A.R.s. They were only moments away from opening fire on her ass. Lydia rolled forward and flipped the closest metal table onto it's side for cover. She immediately went prone and waited while bullets littered themselves onto and around the metal table. "Lydia?! What the hell is going on?!"

"Didn't I tell you just now there was only one way in!" Lydia reached into one of her pockets and pulled out a smoke grenade she was saving for a rainy day. _Time to kick some ass._ Lydia grinned and pulled the tag with her teeth before chucking the object over the table. She listened to it tap the ground, following by the hissing of the smoke. She spit the pin from her mouth and waited for the first sign of disorient.

"граната!" ("Grenade!") The amount of coughing to follow the exclamation was intense. Lydia took this opportunity to return to her knees and aim her gun toward the foes. Upon sitting up, a bullet grazed her left arm. Her eyes and gun turned to the left to spot a man with a pistol emerging from the massive cloud of gray smoke. Lydia placed her finger on the trigger and shot the man in both kneecaps. He instantly dropped to the ground with an agonizing yelp. Ignoring the slight sting in her left bicep, she stood up straight; eyeing five other men still drowning in the cloud of smoke.

Lydia narrowed her eyes and marched forward, examining the outline of the closest KGB operative. She reached with her left arm and grabbed onto the man's shoulder. Lydia jerked him in her direction and uppercutted him under the mandible, making him fall backwards unconscious. She heard a few more gunshot rattle off, close by, but not in her direction. The men had decided to blindly fire in hopes of hitting her. As the smoke began to dissipate, the incapacitated soldiers began to stir out of their temporary daze.

Lydia bolted toward the next individual with the closest proximity to her. She closed the distance and violently shoved him into another soldier; the both of them toppling over. While they were busy, Lydia readied her A.R. and shot the remaining individuals in the legs. Her attention turned to the two she had knocked down only moments ago. One of them was starting to get up! While on his hands and knees, Lydia took the advantage to lunge into a kick. Her boot struck the man right in the face. She could feel his jaw slide out of place at the sheer force of the kick. His body plummeted back onto the male that was underneath him, rendering him unmovable.

"Lydia! The DEA is closing in! Are you alright?!" Kaz chimed in through her eardrums. Lydia took in a deep breath and looked around the area. The moaning and groaning of the injured men was almost music to her ears. Her eyes grazed around the area, the majority of the Costa Rican workers were terrified…trembling in their bones. Some of them were dead…those who were left alive were no doubt headed off to jail.

"Yeah, I'm alright." She smiled, finally taking a look at her left bicep. The injury wasn't too deep, only a flesh wound. "Just a scratch." She scratched.

"Do you see anybody that could be the boss?"

"At this hour?" Lydia looked around. "I doubt they would be here. He probably has a nine to five." She joked, walking around to each of the KGBs; kicking away their weapons. Outside in the hall, she could hear the trampling of footsteps…heavy to exact. Her eyes floated to the door, readying her gun in the mean time. The door was knocked open, followed by a flood of DEA agents entering the room. Each of them were armed to the tee with riot gear and wore gas masks, something she was envious of.

"Manos en el aire!" ("Hands in the air!") One of the friendlies shouted to her. Each of them strategically positioned themselves across the room.

"Estoy con MSF." ("I'm with MSF.") Lydia placed the A.R. on the ground and raise her hands on top of her head.

"MSF." The assumed leader of the entourage walked in. He was a bulky tan gentleman in a gas mask. "I'll be damned, look at all this _shit_." He was amazed at the amount of cocaine in the room. At the familiar tone, Lydia placed her arms back to her sides. "Men, take all these guys out. Load 'em up in the trucks. I want everyone cleared out by morning so we can give their ring-leader one hell of a surprise."

"Sir!" The men responded. Their reaction time didn't take long until they began to haul out the disoriented workers and KGB soldiers scattered across the room.

"Great job soldier. When I thought that someone other the The Boss was taking over this mission, I thought for sure it was going to be a failure. It seemed like your commander was right in sending you in his place."

"MSF is not to be underestimated." Lydia spoke under the bandana. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm tired of being in this room."

"Yes ma'am." Lydia nodded at the man and walked out of the area, finally happy to breathe in the nice, cool, night air.

"Mission accomplished." Lydia roughly rubbed her closed eyelids then stretched her arms toward the sky.

"Great job." Kaz complimented. "The chief is going to wire us payment, you succeeded just how he wanted…you probably even exceeded his expectations."

"That I did Kaz…that I did." She unwrapped the bandana from around her face and stuffed in in her pocket. _There's no way I'm loosing this souvenir._ "I'm going to call my driver and have him pick me up. My job here is done."

"I'll see you when you get back. Maybe we can cele-" Lydia changed the frequency on the radio before Kaz could finish his advance.

"Hey Raven, can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear, glad to hear your voice." He responded.

"You too, bud. The mission was a success. Come on up."

"On my way." She turned her radio off, enjoying the silence and the occasional crying coming from the hidden mining area.

A voice erupted from behind her. "Hey you, wait!" Lydia turned her body to witness the boss of the operation jogging to meet her. "I wanted to thank you. This operation turned out better than I expected. There's about _fifteen_ tons of cocaine in there. We couldn't have seized this place without you. The drug world will definitely be hurting with this one."

"Fifteen, huh? I'm glad we could make a dent in their production cycle. If you need any help in the future, you know how to contact us." Lydia held out her hand, which he happily took to shake. "It was a pleasure making things easy for you."

"Haha, you said it." He joked back. "We're going to clear up and wait here for a while. We can take it from here. Thank you again. I'll be sure to wire your business the dues."

"For sure." Lydia let go of his hand, soon hearing the rumbling of the truck coming up from behind her. "Good luck, sir." She nodded and turned to face the approaching vehicle. Lydia jogged up to the truck bed and crawled inside once it stopped. "Alright, Raven, let's go home!"

* * *

 **November 4, 1973: 20:46**

The time was nearing 21:00. Raven and Lydia had finally made it back to base with no issue. To her liking, Raven took his time again, making sure not to rouse any suspicion on the way back. A couple of soldiers saluted their presence upon their return. Lydia hopped out of the truck bed and instantly laid her eyes on her small shack. Before she could retire, she had one thing to do. Lydia turned to face Raven, who had just approached her from behind. She stuck out her hand, waiting for him to take it.

"Thank you, Raven. You've proven yourself in many circumstances." He smiled wide and held onto her hand to return the gesture. "You have yet to disappoint me and I hope there will never be a day like that." Lydia let go of his hand and nodded. "Get some rest, soldier. We both deserve a good break."

"Yes ma'am." He saluted, then turned away to the men's dorm bungalow.

"I thought I heard someone familiar." A voice echoed through her ears from behind. Lydia sighed and turned her body one-hundred and eighty degrees to witness Kazuhira approaching from his own shack.

"Kaz." She tilted her head up to acknowledge his presence. "Did I wake you?"

"Nah, I figured you'd be back around this time. I kept a close eye on your tracking device."

"Ah…makes sense." She wondered.

"While you were en route back to base the DEA wired us the funds. They even added a few extra because of the element of surprise your granted them with."

"Really now?" Lydia crossed her arms and grinned. "I hope we can get something good with it. Don't waste that money, Miller."

"Oh, I've got something in mind, alright." He winked. "Hey, I actually went out and got some beer for our major victory. I thought you might want to celebrate?" Alcohol did sound pretty damn good at this point. Things were peaceful as could be. The majority of the MSF crew were in their bunks…what harm would come if she was unprofessional just this once?

"To hell with it." Lydia smiled and shrugged. "Cough it up, Kaz."

"Really? Wow, I'll be right back!" He nearly skipped all the way to his quarters. Lydia reached to her harness and unbuckled it, letting it slide off onto the ground. She unhooked her utility belt next and threw it to the side; finally feeling free of the extra weight. By her shack, a steel barrel was sitting dormant. Lydia walked up to the barrel and pushed it on its side, rolling it closer to the ocean. Once at a comfortable distance, she stopped the barrel and moved in front of it. She sat down on the coarse, loose, white sand and leaned her back against the object; already much more comfortable than the truck.

Lydia turned her head when she heard Kaz approach from behind. "Would you look at this? I even had it imported." He placed down a six-pack of Guinness. The beer of beers.

"Guinness, huh? Nice choice." She laughed. Kaz sat down to her left, having the six pack separate them. He reached into the cardboard holder and handed her a glass bottle.

"I didn't take you for a beer person." Lydia took the bottle from Kaz. "I guess there's something new to learn about you every day."

"I wouldn't say I'm a _beer_ person. But when the time calls to have one…well…I can't really say 'no' to a good 'ol beverage."

"I hear ya." Kaz popped off the top of the bottle with an opener, then handed it to Lydia. Upon opening it, the strong smell of the smooth, creamy liquid filled her nostrils. "Here's to you." Kaz held up his bottle in celebration. Lydia brought her bottle to his to finish the cheer with a smile plastered on her face. She brought the head of the bottle to her lips and took a sip of the sweet substance that quickly turned bitter. It tasted like the most concentrated of coffees, but was deceptively balanced with malt. There was absolutely _nothing_ like it.

"Damn that's a good beer." Lydia exhaled after the first sip. "Thank you, Kaz."

"I feel like you earned it." He took a sip out of his own.

"I'm not complaining. It's good to relax every once in a while." She smiled to herself as her palate craved another swig. "This will definitely help tie off the edge of that long ass drive."

"No kidding." From her peripherals, Kaz lifted up his sunglasses off of his face and folded them up. She turned her head to take a closer look at the rare scene.

"Hey, Kaz. Can I ask you something?" She took another sip from the bottle.

"Sure, ask me anything." Kaz's light blue eyes floated to meet her green ones.

"Why do you always wear sunglasses? Even at night…I've never wanted to point it out because I didn't want to seem like an ass if you forgot to take them off."

"Ha!" Kaz took another sip of his drink and grinned. "To be honest, I think of it as a trademark for myself." He gloated.

"Really?" Lydia responded with a straight face and monotone voice. She was obviously looking for some kind of _logical_ answer.

"That _and_ I'm a little sensitive to the light." He tapped onto his right temple with the top of the beer bottle. "I used to always get migraines when I was outside as a kid. I never realized what it was until I was older and had enough money to see an ophthalmologist."

"Wow…I had no idea." Lydia took another swig. "So what was Japan like?"

"Japan? Look at _you_ and all your questions." Kaz chuckled. "I have to say, I'm flattered. We haven't really had time to sit down and talk one-on-one without something coming up."

"I don't know…it must be the alcohol." Lydia lied, taking another sip. By now, she was half-way through with the container; not even buzzed. Over the past few days, she actually found herself more curious about her fellow _commander_. He proved to be a great support; she was very impressed with his work ethic when he wasn't flirting around. Why not get to know him? They were in this business together, after all.

"Must be…" Kaz took a few gulps. "I told you I was born in Yokosuka, right?"

"Yeah. That and how all the kids used to make fun of you."

"Ahh, highlight of my childhood right there. That and running my mom's convenience store." Kaz started. "Japan is a beautiful place that is full of history. Maybe one day, we'll be able to visit and I'll show you the sights."

"Yeah, that would be nice. I've been slightly interested in Japanese culture since we met you last year. I thought it was so strange how someone, to this day, would go by a samurai's code."

"Heh, yeah. What can I say?" Kaz shrugged. "Wait…did you just agree to go somewhere with me? Man, that alcohol _must_ be hitting you." Kaz laughed light-heartedly.

"I'm just _saying_ it would be nice to see some place other than the Americas for once." Lydia sighed and finished off her bottle.

"You haven't been to any other part of the world? Seriously?" Kaz leaned closer to her, intrigued. He also handed her another bottle of beer.

"Thanks." She took a hold of it and opened the top. "I've been to Russia…" She took a small sip, feeling the burn travel down her throat. "I didn't really have a chance to look around tho…it woulda been nice to see what the Soviets had to offer." Lydia frowned.

"Everything I hear on that place is either about its terrible weather or nuclear weapons." Kaz added, trying to lighten the mood a bit. "You know what? Yeah, one of these day I swear I'm gonna take you to Japan. Whether you like it or not." Kaz smiled, trying his best to change the subject. Lydia couldn't help but form a soft smile with her lips and turn her gaze out to the ocean. Lydia took a few large gulps of the beer, which earned her a pat on the shoulder from Kaz. "Slow down there, Lydia. I don't want you to get sick." He laughed.

"Right." She sighed, bringing the beer bottle to ground-level. "You know what, Kaz? I'm impressed by you. For the past year, I always questioned what Snake saw in you…other than the samurai business of course…he told me that you were a 'true comrade' and that he was able to differentiate you from everyone else based solely on that last-ditch kamikaze you almost pulled. At that time, and when we were first starting MSF, I couldn't see it. But after the past few days, I've been realizing how important you are to MSF. You do a lot for us, and I'm sorry if I come off a little distant…err…difficult. From here on, I want us to get along."

"Me and you both." Kaz cut her off, scooting a little closer…but not close enough to make her uncomfortable. "Lydia, you're a hard-headed woman…probably the most challenging one I've ever met. But all those rough times leading up to this moment made everything worth it." Lydia smiled, taking in the scent from the ocean mixed with the bitterness of the alcohol. "Don't you think?"

"Yeah." Lydia's voice was soft, almost inaudible. "You know…I'd always been alone half my life." Lydia started, taking another swig of alcohol before putting the half-empty bottle down between her legs.

"What brought that on?"

"This is the first time in a long time where I really don't feel that way." Lydia kept her eyes on the waves coming up to the shore line. Her mind was racing around at her childhood, influenced by the alcohol intake. "Growing up, I didn't really have an adult figure in my life. My father had died when I was a baby and my mom offed herself when I was ten. I was always in and out of foster care just trying to get through elementary school. I mean, with a brain like mine, the foster parents thought I was some kind of special and couldn't hold onto me for very long. I was always alone. Snake was the first man in my life to show me he cared. When I landed my first job in the CIA, he trained me. He raised me to become the woman I am today. He was the first one that made me feel _wanted_."

"Oh…" Kaz responded, realization striking his face. "So that's what you meant by him being like your dad and all."

"Exactly." Lydia sighed. "It's not a kink, Kaz."

"I never said _that_." He laughed.

"I never forget, Kazuhira. You can't worm your way out of that one."

"Alright, alright. My sincerest apologies for my assumption." He quieted down.

"I was forcefully deported out of the US after a mission of mine turned south…I wasn't able to tell Snake goodbye or anything. I was living in Cartagena for eight years until Snake up and decided to drop by and recruit me for the job where we met you."

"Sounds like you've been through a lot." Kaz placed his bottle firmly in the sand. Something warm covered her left hand…it was his. Lydia turned her head to look at Kaz in his unshielded eyes. "You know, if you ever need to talk about it, you can always confide in me." Lydia's eyes moved to her hand before she slid it out from under his, replacing it back on her lap.

"I'm not one for resurfacing memories." She weakly smiled. "I'm too venerable. God, I sound like such a hypocrite right now."

"There's nothing wrong with being like that." Kaz pressed on. "Everyone has a past and it's important to accept those things that happened and move on. Whatever you went through…it looks to me like you're starting to get a hold on it."

"I don't know." Lydia shifted her body and grabbed a hold of her bottle again. "You might be right." She took another swig, feeling the buzz creep up to her brain. More than likely, Kaz was probably feeling it too, unless he was good at holding his liquor. She wasn't sure if it was because of the alcohol, but she wanted to know more about Kaz. That little outburst about her childhood came out of nowhere, but he didn't run from it. Maybe he had his own secret motives by using his listening skills. But now wasn't the time for conspiracy theories, that was the alcohol talking, and she had more to find out about this Kazuhira Miller. "So…Kaz?"

"Heh…yes?" He let out a soft chuckle.

"What's _your_ favorite color?"

"Back at this again, huh?" Kaz smiled, taking a deep chug of his beverage. Lydia crossed her legs and turned to her left to face Kaz, interested in learning more about the man. "Green."

"Looks like we have something in common, now." Lydia laughed. "Favorite animal?"

"I like dogs. Huskies in particular. One of these days, I'll own a few." He nodded to himself at the idea. "How about you?"

"Koala bears."

"Koalas?" Kaz wanted to laugh, but kept it in. "I never would've thought!" She smacked his knee with the palm of his hand.

"What did you _think_ it would be?"

"Uhhh, I don't know? Some _lizard_?"

"A _lizard_?!" Lydia exclaimed, half offended. She dramatically placed her right hand to her heart and held a disappointed look on her brow. "Koalas are just the cutest things on this planet! You can have your damn huskies, Kazuhira. A _lizard_? _Seriously_?" He wouldn't stop laughing, which hindered him from taking in more alcohol. His smile could be seen for miles it seemed; it was highly contagious. "How about a car?" She quickly changed the subject, and to his favor a matter of fact.

"A car? Why don't you ask me about steam locomotives."

"Wait, a train? You like _trains_?"

"Do I like _trains_? A steam locomotive is not _any_ normal train. Ha! What kind of question is that?" Kaz finished off his bottle and opened another while continuing his statement. "The roar of the engine, the throaty steam whistle…it's really more animal than machine."

"Please, tell me _more_." Lydia urged with an amused smile plastered on her face, taking in some more alcohol.

"Here you go, getting me started." Kaz leaned on the metal barrel. "I can listen to those babies _all_ day and could literally fall asleep to the sweet music they make on the tracks. Just seeing one was a rarity in Japan…I've always had my eye out for them wherever I go." It was odd thinking that one person was so passionate about something like that…but whatever floats his boat. Or…whatever drives his train in this sense. Lydia and Kaz went on talking for hours on end until they were completely done with the six-pack of intoxicating Guinness. Three beers into the night, Lydia was done. She was buzzed enough to feel good about everything.

The night was filled with laughter and far-fetched tales of their pasts; no use bringing up the bad if there was so much good to talk about. Kazuhira Miller finally etched his way into her life, even if they did find their similarities over a few drinks. He was something else, alright. Lydia could fall asleep that night knowing Kaz would always have her back.

* * *

 **Now I'm gonna go buy some Guinness! *peace***


	26. Chapter 26

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise!**

 **Author's Note: Thank you to every one who subscribed to the story (and/or stopped by to take a peek)! I'm debating on if today is going to be a two-chapter deal. If I save chapter 27 for next week it's gonna be kinda short, not gonna lie (like just shy of 2,000 words). And then the chapter AFTER that is like back to 3000-4000 and that chapter after THAT is like a million words. Ok so yeah, I just talked myself into it. Today is a two-chapter day so you get this one and 28, which kinda go hand in hand I suppose! Expect the next one in a few hours! Enjoy! :3**

 **Rook115:** The best kind lol :)

 **Guest K:** While I was writing that, I was thinking to myself...damn you better go to the store and buy some Guinness like NOW. And I'm not even a Guinness drinker! lmao :'D I love writing action scenes! They don't appear a lot but I make sure to hopefully deliver when they do happen :)

 **CaptainMc:** KICKIN' ASS AND TAKIN' NAMES 3 lol YAS LYDIA YAAAAAAS. And it's my pleasure! I love writing this story and knowing you guys are loving it as well! Where I'm at right now is just killing me. I can't wait for all of you to catch up to me xD

* * *

 **"I took my love, I took it down,**

 **Climbed a mountain and I turned around,**

 **And I saw my reflection in the snow covered hills,**

 **'Till the landslide brought it down...**

 **Can I sail through the changin' ocean tides?**

 **Can I handle the seasons of my life?**

 **Well, I've been afraid of changin',**

 **'Cause I've built my life around you.**

 **But time makes you bolder,**

 **Even children get older,**

 **And I'm getting older, too."**

 **-Fleetwood Mac**

* * *

 **November 15, 1973: 07:00.**

A few hours prior, Snake had finally made it back from his long journey. While he was up in Costa Rica, he had taken on a few more solo side jobs to avoid long travel-time. With their victory on the drug cartel, the DEA had recommended MSF to a few third-party companies that were having some troubles of their own around South America. The ball was rolling faster than ever because of the tremendous success. Upon Snake's return, he had called her into the main office, wanting to speak with her about the mission details.

Lydia rolled out of her small cot and crawled up onto her feet before getting dressed in a simple brown tee with black cargo pants. To finish the apparel, she tied on some brown boots. Across the room, Lydia spotted her favorite hairband and bent down to pick it up. Kneeling down on her knee, there was something sharp that urged its way through her left thigh. "Mmmm." She tucked in her lips and closed her eyes, unmoving, waiting for the pain in her leg to pass. _I wasn't even overextending._ Lydia pursed her lips out and glanced at her left leg. "Be good to me today, you." She commanded to her leg, thinking it would help. She shook off the dull pain that was left behind and reached down to grab the hair-tie.

She slowly stood from her kneeling position and placed the band in her mouth before limping slowly out of her shack. Once outside, she let her eyes adjust to the sunlight. It was especially beautiful out, not a cloud in the sky. The sky was as blue as could be and clashed against the ocean so nicely. The sea breeze was cool; being this close to the equator was a blessing because the weather was always so nice year round. Lydia lifted both of her arms, placing the majority of her weight on her right leg. She slid her fingers through her long blonde hair, bringing it posterior to her forehead. "What a rarity! Here I thought you never wore your hair down."

"Mmm?" Lydia turned her head to her right. Her eyes instantly met Kaz's form, which he replied with a small wave of his hand. She winked her right eye at him, still holding onto the band in her mouth. She bundled the majority of her hair in her left hand then grabbed the band with her right. "Good morning to you too, Kaz." Lydia spoke up, finishing her classic hair style. She descended the two wooden stair steps leading up to her shack and landed softly on the sand, trying her best to hide the faint limp on her left leg.

Kaz stayed put in his position until Lydia was close enough to walk next to on the way to the office bungalow. "Snake wants to know all about your success, I hear." Kaz nudged her in the arm.

"It wasn't just me, you know. You're the one that convinced the DEA I could do it." Lydia smiled. A random, strong burst of wind came in from the sea, causing a shorter layer of her hair to fall out of the ponytail. "Ugh." Lydia rolled her eyes and reached up to her ponytail for the second time.

"Wait just one minute." Kazuhira jumped in front of her, stopping Lydia in her tracks. "I got it." He wore the softest smile on his lips as he reached up his left hand to brush the flyaway pieces behind her right ear. With a subtle action, he traced his thumb across the faint scar running across her right cheek. She wanted to search his eyes behind those aviators of his to determine his thoughts. The drooping of his brows, that handsome half-smile on his face…was he wearing concern? Content? "There." He brushed his hand on her right shoulder next before returning it to his side. "Better." He nodded in accomplishment.

Lydia's hadn't noticed her cheeks were warmer than usual until his hand was off of her person. "Uhhh, thanks." She forcibly smiled, attempting to hide embarrassment.

"Ahem…now let's get to The Boss, shall we?" He motioned his right arm for her to take the lead, which she happily did. Lydia walked to the bungalow and knocked on the door before Snake mumbled for her to enter.

Lydia pushed open the wooden door, nodding at Snake upon her entry. "Lydia, I've been hearing some good things about your mission in Costa Rica." He cut to the chase right away.

"Yessir, I have to say it was a good turnout." Lydia nodded, taking a seat at the lone table in the middle of the room.

"The DEA chief caught the KGB operative running the mining plant…there was fifteen tons of cocaine in there. And to do it without a single casualty? You brought all those dealers to justice." Snake praised. "Because of that victory, we've seen an increase in our profits as well as job intakes."

"Nah it can't be because of that…" Lydia trailed off. "Could it?"

"Because of the success of that mission, MSF is getting more recognized by larger entities...ones outside the US. The successes of the smaller groups is spreading our reputation as well."

"Wow…I had no idea there was that big of an impact." Lydia felt shocked. "Thank you for the praise, Boss…I don't know what to say." Lydia adjusted herself in the her chair.

"You don't have to say anything. I just wanted to congratulate you." Snake dug in one of his pockets and pulled out a cigar, placing it between his teeth. He took out a lighter with another hand and lit it up, puffing the smoke in and out through his lips. The smell of the cigar was strong, like it was imported from somewhere…"And I was able to afford a few cuban imports." He spoke through a grin, exhaling a large puff of smoke.

"Ahhhhh, in that case, you're welcome." Lydia smiled to herself.

"Kaz…" Snake shifted his green eye to look at Kaz, standing by the door. "Can you step out for a minute?"

"Huh?" Lydia and Kaz questioned simultaneously. "Sure thing, Boss. I'll go look at some incoming jobs." Kaz was just as confused as Lydia. What did he want to talk to her alone about? Lydia felt like she was sweating enough to fill the entire ocean as silence filled the room. Was she in trouble? No, it couldn't be that…he had just praised her for a good job. Then…what was it? Once the door closed and Kaz's footsteps were audibly distant from the door, Snake sighed and took another drag of the cigar.

"I couldn't help but notice your limp when you came in. Is your leg bothering you again?" Lydia let out a long exhale she didn't realize she was holding in. Nothing could get past Snake, no use hiding things around him.

"Not any more than it usually does." Lydia hid her own concern behind her eyes.

 _"I was just admiring your gruesome scar from when you first got here. Reminds me of the good ol' days."_

Ocelot's face surfaced in her mind as his voice engulfed her ears as if he was standing right behind her. Lydia lifted up her right and and scratched the back of her head, under her ponytail. Her fingers brushed up against her neck and over the electrical burn that started its hidden descent beneath her collar. Lydia looked away from Snake and tucked in her lips, thinking of the man she left behind in Russia. To this day he made her crawl and ache for one last kiss. It had been a while since he had crossed her mind…but what point was it to engage in such a relationship? Even if he was alive…there was a slim chance that he would could be found.

It was a relationship built off of the trust of Stockholm Syndrome…at least that's what she told herself these past few years. Quarantine, living under the same roof with a man that provided and watched over a person all hours of the day, lies, deceit, going through physical and mental torture in the same compound; it was nothing short but a textbook definition of such. Even after all the heartbreak, he still crept his way back up to her lonely side. His stone-cold eyes and his snarky attitude, there was really no one who compared to him. But why was she so intent on not letting him go? Why couldn't she accept, even after all these years, that there was no way they would see each other again?

One always has a hard time forgetting their first love…even if it turned out for the worst. Lydia sighed at the thought of her former and returned her eyes to Snake, whom was studying her intently all the while smoking his cigar from across the table. Lydia dropped her hand back to her lap and twiddled her thumbs together. If anyone knew what had happened to him…to Adam…it would be Snake. Maybe it was finally time for some closure. The thought had crossed her mind, but she had never had the chance to sit in one-on-one with her old friend.

"Jack…" His name slipped from her lips easy. A name he hadn't heard in years. He puffed out another cloud of smoke and grunted in response, not minding the use of his first name. "I…can I ask you about something?"

"Shoot." He simply replied, quick to answer. Lydia separated her hands and rested the both of them flat on her lap.

"I need some closure about something…" She began, nerves starting to swell in her stomach. "In Russia…what…what happened to Ocelot?" _Ocelot…_ She thought of him after his name finally left her voice-box. Him and his stupid juggling tricks and the annoying rattling of his spurs…although it was something that she slightly missed hearing almost everyday. "Please Boss…I need some closure on this one."

"Ocelot? You mean your boyfriend?" Snake chuckled through his teeth. "He was an interesting one alright. When we were taking off, that kid had found his way onto the plane…well…needless to say we had a _duel_ of some sorts." Snake chuckled again at the memory and exhaled another cloud of smoke. "He was pretty good, but not good enough. Every time he crossed me, I taught him a lesson he would never forget. Just like you wanted. I had the chance to pull the trigger on him at the end…but I didn't do it."

"Why?" Lydia questioned, not too sure if she was stepping out of the boundaries.

"He was just a kid. I taught him valuable life lessons for him to build off of that could turn him into an even greater soldier. What point would I have made if I killed him right then and there after all that hard work?" He took another drag from the cuban delicacy.

"Yeah, you're right."

"So he told me 'we'll meet again' and that was the end of it. Before we were too high up, he jumped out of the plane."

"Jumped…so he's alive…right?"

"As far as I know." Snake responded simply with a shrug.

"Heh…what a dummy." Lydia shook her head, just envisioning Ocelot 'gracefully' hurling himself out of a moving plane. "Thank you, Snake…I needed that. Because of you…" Lydia paused.

"You feel like you can move on." Snake finished her statement.

"Yeah…or get started at least. I can start to put that time behind me…and take a hold of my past." She smiled at the repeat of Kazuhira's words that were shared their other drunken night on the shore. She stood up from her chair and extended her right hand toward Snake, which he took and returned with a brief shake. "Thank you, Boss."

"Mmmhmm." He grinned and let go of her hand. "Now why don't you go lead the boys in a five-mile run, eh?"

"Five miles? Isn't that a little forgiving? Oh well, you got it, Boss." Lydia held a thumbs up. _In that case, maybe I can run my left leg numb!_ Snake just snickered at her response. She waltzed out of the building and was greeted with the ocean's gentle breeze. Inhaling the saltiness through her nose, she let out a long exhale to follow. "Alright boys!" Lydia called out, walking down the steps that lead onto the sand. "Gather 'round!"

"Ma'am!" About ten men responded, the rest had been deployed on small missions around the area; nothing too drastic. Each one of them stood before her and saluted, acknowledging her presence.

"At ease, gentlemen!" Lydia spoke, waving her right arm for them to knock it out. "Guess what we're gonna do?"

"Run ten miles?" Viper, a bulky man with creamy skin, red hair, and brown eyes answered.

"Absolutely not." Lydia smiled. "The Boss wants to go easy today. I suppose he's in a good mood, so it's gonna be a five mile jog!" Her eyes turned to Raven who fist-bumped the man next to him, Ostrich. "But I have a mission for the lot of you." She held up her right index finger to the sky.

"What can we do for you, ma'am?" Jackal laughed out. He had dark brown eyes that matched his skin. He was lean in stature and kept his curly black hair at a buzz-cut.

"If one of you can convince Commander Lazy Miller to join us, you don't have to run."

"YES!" They all surprisingly shouted, bolting off in all directions to locate Kaz. Lydia chuckled to herself. Her eyes moved to see Raven whom had stayed behind. "Of course you wouldn't go." Lydia nodded her head up.

"It's a nice day out and I could use the exercise." He smiled with his pearly whites. "Besides, I have something to ask you."

"What's up?" Lydia crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at the approaching soldier.

"I couldn't help but notice you've been hiding a limp. You sure you should be running with that?" He spoke out of concern, she knew that. Lydia honestly didn't know what to say. When did he notice? Has he alway seen the limp she carried?

"Thanks for your concern, Raven." Lydia started, softening up her facial features to look less caught off guard. "I've been living with this limp for a long time, it doesn't bother me any more, really." That was a lie. Just thinking about it made her muscle twitch. "I've tried my best to hide it and I'm honestly surprised you noticed!" She praised his keen ability.

"I'm not gonna lie, I went to medical school before it was my dream to become an artist! Even graduated top of my class."

"Medical school, huh?" She placed her hands on her hips. "Now I won't be surprised if you told me you were an astronaut, too." She spoke in good-humor. "Should I be calling you Dr. Raven?"

"No ma'am. Raven will do." He smiled with his pearly whites and nodded.

"Anyway, I would appreciate it if you didn't say anything about my condition to the other guys. Your Sub-C needs to keep up appearances, ya?"

"Ya." He simply responded with a thumbs-up to follow.

"Sub-C!" A familiar cry wailed through the open area. "I got him!" Lydia grinned to herself and looked to her right, to see the soldiers surrounding Miller. Since she had seen him last, he had stripped down to a plain white t-shirt with his classic green pants and black boots. A sight other than him bundled up in his uniform was a rarity since their first meeting.

"So, Lydia, Viper here tells me that if I joined in this five-mile run you would go on a date with me?"

"…" Lydia's eye lids partially shut, glaring daggers at Viper. She shut her eyes and rubbed the both of them with her right thumb and index finger. One long, aggravated sigh later, Lydia opened her eyes and glanced at Kaz. "If that'll get you off your ass, I suppose."

"You got it." Kaz flashed her a grin.

"Alright, boys, let's get a move on!" Lydia ordered as the lot of them began to jog along the shore-line. "Viper, congratulations on using your _wit_ to get out of this situation." Lydia's left eyebrow twitched. "You can sit out this time."

"Yes ma'am!" He and Kaz shook hands the moment the conversation was over. Lydia sighed and turned her back to Kaz.

"You totally struck a deal with him, didn't you?" Lydia couldn't help but smile in comic relief. But she couldn't let Kaz see that.

"That's for me to know and you to find out." He jogged past her. Lydia watched him grow farther and farther away, not sure if she wanted to feel amazed or ticked. Deep down, Lydia _wanted_ to see him. Despite his womanizing and aggravating attitude, he was actually a breath of fresh air…almost a face and personality that could help her forget the harshness of reality. Either way, they both got what they wanted.


	27. Chapter 27

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise**

 **Author's Note: Here is the second chapter for the day! Enjoy! :3**

 **Mature Content Warning: Sexual Themes**

* * *

 **"With a glass I'm pretty handy.**

 **I'm trying to walk a straight line…**

 **So join me for a drink, boys,**

 **We're gonna make a big noise.**

 **So don't worry about tomorrow,**

 **Take it today.**

 **Forget about the check,**

 **We'll get hell to pay."**

 **-AC/DC**

* * *

Lydia's numb fingers traced along the moist surface of the appendage that had presented itself before her. It was calling out to her. It was yearning for her to grab a hold and place the cool tip to her lips. The temptation was strong and just within arm's reach… "Come on, just take it already. I know you want it." Lydia's hazed green eyes shifted to Kaz's eyes…well where his eyes _would_ be if they weren't shielded by his aviators. Lydia sighed and returned her eyes to the bottle of beer that was begging for her to take another sip.

"I don't know about that, I've had like four already." Lydia cracked a smile. Her light-headedness was clouding her judgement. Some time during the night and with enough nagging, Kaz had convinced her to go to a local bar in the city for their outing.

"Just one behind me." Kaz challenged. "Come on, you can't let me leave you in the dust now, right?" Lydia's fingers wrapped around the base of the glass bottle. "Attagirl." Kaz patted the small of her back. Lydia hated turning down a challenge…and losing. There was no way he would one-up her for the entire evening. She would rather keep it at a draw. She finally placed the bottle to her lips and sipped at it.

"Happy?" She raised an eyebrow, taking another swig of the beer. It was light, but five in would definitley pack a punch.

"In more ways that one." Kaz bit his bottom lip, dragging his teeth along it. Both of his eyebrows were raised like he was sizing her up in the moment. Lydia shifted her eyes away from him as fast as the speed of light. _Don't you dare look at me like that. Am I imagining this?_ There was no doubt Kazuhira Miller was a handsome man, but the alcohol only made his attractiveness grow ten-fold. "I'll be right back Lydia, don't go far." He rubbed his hand along her back and stood up from the stool he was sitting on. Lydia took another sip and turned her head to follow his movements as he made his way to the restroom. Lydia craned her head back to the beer a nearly chugged half the bottle at his disappearance. "Yeesh." She placed the bottle down after a long exhale.

"Quieres agua?" ("Do you want water?") The bartender, cleaning a shot glass from behind the bar, asked Lydia.

"Sí, por favor." ("Yes, please.") Lydia sighed. The man nodded as Lydia took out some cash she had bundled in her pocket. After placing the money for her and Kaz's bill on the counter, she downed the rest of the beer from the bottle. "You speak English?" She motioned to the bartender once he placed the large glass of water on the counter before her.

"More or less." He responded.

"Good, cuz I don't think my brain could keep up with Spanish right now." Lydia rolled her eyes and let out a small laugh.

"That's one smooth man you got there." He raised an eyebrow, readying another drink for a different customer. "He's here almost every weekend leaving with a lady on his hip."

"…" Lydia stared into her glass of water. "Yeah…he's… _something_ …" She placed the cold liquid to her lips and took a sip of the rejoicing water. How great it felt to have a beverage other than beer! Lydia licked her lips and placed the glass back onto the surface.

"Kinda like how he's leaving with someone right now." Lydia's eyes moved up to catch the bar tender nodding in the direction of the entrance. Lydia sat up straight and twisted her back to catch Kaz about to exit the building with some bodacious brunette! Lydia narrowed her eyes the further he got away.

"You know…" She started and turned her attention back to the bartender. "It's not even fuckin' worth it." She placed the water back to her lips and took a big gulp. "You know, that guy has been a pain in my ass since I met the fucker and you know what? He's always fuckin' around." Lydia slurred. "Well here's what I say to that: fuck you Kazuhira Miller. Fuck. You." Lydia smiled to herself then instantly frowned. "I mean he didn't even say 'bye'! What an asshole." She downed the glass of water and awaited a refill.

"There is one thing tho, I haven't seen him look as hungry as he did while he was looking at you."

"Hungry?" Lydia's head perked up. "Like, horny? That guy will fuck any lady that walks. He's been wanting to get in my pants since day onnnnn-ten. Yeah, day ten."

"You want him to, don't you?" The bartender urged on, enjoying the interrogation. Lydia dramatically rolled her eyes.

"No."

"You better stop lying to yourself. Every woman in town is after that dick."

"Expect _this_ woman." She watched the bartender refill her drink. " _Except_." Lydia corrected herself. "Ugh." She took a sip immediately after he was done.

"Nah, you like that blonde bastard, him an his cool-ass shades."

"No." Lydia's head started to hurt the more she thought about Kaz.

"You know he told me once that his dick is-"

"STAHP." Lydia cut him off, blush rising to her cheeks. "Stop rrrrright there. I get it." She placed the glass to her lips another time and drank as much water she could muster. "Man, am I gonna have a headache tomorrow. And my boss is gonna fuckin' nail me in the morning."

"You've got one interesting boss."

"Tell me about it." Lydia groaned. Her mind was moving a million miles an hour until her mind caught her verbiage used in her statement to the bar tender. There was no turning back now, once it was said it was said. He was gonna nail her. Boss…was gonna nail it _right_ into her. Lydia started to giggle at the mishap of words. "Man, alcohol really does fuck up its victims." Lydia smiled. Suddenly, a presence sat next to her, his body facing her…uncomfortably close. Lydia planted her right hand on top of her glass of water and turned her head to the man that stole her _date's_ seat. "Can I help you?" She spoke with an unamused tone. The man wore black-rimmed glasses. His eyes were a boring brown and his other lackluster features didn't scream out anything either…he was no Kaz.

"You can help me by getting out of that seat. I'm saving it for when my…date…comes back."

"You mean the blonde? I saw what happened there." He laughed. His voice was obnoxiously high, making her head hurt more than what it should be. "How the hell did you ever pick that guy? If you're looking for a _man_ , I'm right here." She smelt tequila on his breath.

"Please back up, you're making me sick." Lydia sighed.

"Playing hard to get, huh? Two can play that game." The man's hand found its way to her right thigh. Lydia just sat…she didn't know what the heck to do. What was that feeling that had just crept up her spine? Disgust? Shock? Worry? Or was that just the feeling of being drunk? Lydia couldn't help but form a threatening half-grin on her lips. Lydia took another sip of her water and slowly licked her dehydrated lips.

"Oh, you're gonna know the definition of 'hard to get' if you don't take your hand off of me." She didn't look at him, but could smell _and_ hear his disgusting stench growing closer to her face. "Alright, I'm gonna give you to the count of three."

"I can give you what you want. Do you want me to impress you?" He crept his fingers to her inner thigh.

"You're impressing me with how stupid you are right now. Hey doc." Lydia looked at the bartender. "I'm sorry 'bout this." Having enough of the groper, Lydia spun around in her stool and grabbed his boring brown locks and slammed his face into the wooden counter. She heard something crack, which was either his nose or the poor wooden surface. The bar suddenly went silent to observe the commotion then resume with regular activities not ten seconds later. Lydia flung his hand off of her thigh. She had knocked him unconscious. There was no way he was gonna have a good morning with that broken…whatever he had.

"Here." Lydia took out a wad of cash and handed the bartender more money. "This is for the potential dent in your counter." She twirled around in the chair and stood up. Lydia walked out into the night and onto the streets of the city. It sure was a busy night, people were out and about having a good time or walking the streets alone. Lydia took inhaled and smiled to herself, earning a few awkward looks from passerby's. _TO BE ALIVE!_ Lydia giddily thought to herself as she strolled in some direction toward the heart of the city.

* * *

 **November 16, 1973: 06:00**

Lydia had opened her eyes to find herself in a familiar place…her bungalow to be exact. But one thing was certain, her head hurt like a cow had just stomped on her brain with it's hoof. "Auuuuuugh." She let out a long groan as the dehydration crept its way to her mouth. She planted her right hand on her head and squinted her eyes shut. The morning sun was starting to blare through the cracks in the door. "God dammit. Could the sun just not rise for once? Christ, why did I do that?"

"Beats me."

"AHHHHH!" Lydia screamed at the foreign voice to enter her ears. In the corner of her bungalow stood Raven, whom was nonchalantly crossing his arms. "Raven?! What the hell?!"

"I drove you around yesterday…remember?"

"Drove…oh…" Lydia had forgotten Raven had volunteered to take her and Kaz in and out of the city.

"It's alright, you were pretty plastered when you walked out of the bar." He shrugged. On the floor next to him was a gallon of water. He bent down and picked it up, walking the jug to her bedside. "After you walked out of the bar, I followed you around until it looked like you were ready to pass out."

"Does that make you a stalker?"

"Just making sure you were safe, Sub-C." Lydia took the gallon from his hand and unscrewed the cap.

"Thanks." She spoke, taking a big gulp of water.

"When I saw the Commander walk out _without_ you, that's when I knew you would be needing a ride back home."

"Good call." Lydia massaged her right temple. "That's the last time I go out on the town with that doofus."

"Good call." Raven mocked back. Lydia only sighed in response as more water travelled through her system, rehydrating her palette.

"Thanks for watching out for me, Raven. You can go now." Lydia motioned for him to leave the room.

"Yes ma'am." He casually saluted and exited the bungalow. Lydia let out a long groan and hit her head back on her pillow. She shut her eyelids and remembered seeing Kazuhira's back leaving the bar with that random woman at his side. Upon opening her eyes she felt something wet travel down her temples. "The fuck?" Lydia brought her right hand to her eyes and rubbed them. She lifted her hand in front of her eyes, examining the moisture that stained itself on her skin. "Oh no, you better stop that." Lydia plummeted her hand down to the mattress and stared at the ceiling. Now if only the headache could make haste a ditch her like Kaz.


	28. Chapter 28

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise!**

 **Author's Note: Thank you so much for your patience everyone! I'm really a day late, but still THANK YOU! I just got out of the hospital this morning! I've got a LOT to catch up on! Here's the next chapter; I hope you enjoy :3**

 **Guest K: Raven is LIIIIIIIIIFE. Raven should have his own orchestra when he walks into a room and replace the most interesting man in the world. Quite frankly, Raven IS the most interesting man in the world. xD**

 **CaptainMc: He gets better, I promise :') I'm glad I could make your Tuesdays (now Wednesday) a little brighter with some highlight :)**

 **Mature Content Warning:** Sexual themes.

* * *

 **"So lady...**

 **Making me want you somehow.**

 **Oh lady,**

 **I think it's only fair I should say to you,**

 **Don't be thinkin' that I don't want you,**

 **'Cause maybe I do.**

 **Don't be thinkin' that I don't want you,**

 **Lady I do."**

 **-Little River Band**

* * *

 **December 1, 1973: 11:00**

Lydia took on the task of avoiding Kazuhira for the past week or so. If they did happen to meet up, she would keep their confrontation very brief. It was just another plain morning, taking a nice jog on the coast; watching the morning colors weave their way across the sky. Upon returning back to base, Lydia was greeted by Snake whom was patiently waiting for her arrival back.

"Oh, hey Snake." Lydia greeted coming to a halt a few feet away from him.

"Lydia." He nodded. "I have a mission for you, and you might not like it."

"Why won't I like it?" Lydia wanted to frown, but had to keep it in. No frowning in front of the boss today!

"You and a few other guys of your choice are going on a salvation mission in Peru."

"Peru?" Lydia raised an eyebrow. "What happened? Did I miss something?"

"Last night they were hit with an 7.6 magnitude earthquake. Their government is wanting us to make an appearance since we don't cost _too_ much… _and_ it could be good for the men, too."

"Alright, you got it, Boss." Lydia sounded uneasy, but why? There was a knot tightening itself in the depths of her abdomen. It was a simple mission…there was no reason to feel nervous. "H-how long am I gonna be gone?"

"Kaz just signed a contract with the government until December seventeenth." Lydia swallowed hard and nodded her head.

"You got it, boss." She recycled her words. "Well, I guess I should pack something, huh?" She spoke with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. "Oh, hey…why don't you pick my guys for me? I kind of want a surprise. And Raven…Raven is a must." Lydia backed away from Snake, keeping her eyes on him, until she felt comfortable enough to turn away. She jogged up to her bungalow and entered, instantly shutting the door behind her.

The pit in her stomach was an endless void…something was happening. She leaned her back against the wooden door a slid down onto her butt. Is it because she didn't want to leave the base? She'd just been training and going on small missions here and there, but nothing that ever lasted this long. She was the Sub-C for Pete's sake! Lydia hugged her knees. _Pull yourself together Lydia, what the hell are you doing?_ Lydia bumped the back of her head on the door and sighed.

 _You deserve this Lydia. This'll give you a good break…I guess._ She thought to herself, pushing herself off the ground. Lydia emotionlessly packed her belongings into a shoulder bag with MSF's logo plastered on it. Lydia dressed herself in comfortable black cargo pants and a long-sleeve black shirt, something that she would feel like she was at-home for the long car drive back. Just outside the main cabin, she spotted the cargo truck they were going to take out. The hood of the truck was open, probably being checked for the long journey.

Lydia tossed her belongings into the bed of the truck and turned around, expecting to see a head of blonde hair…but nothing came into view except the coast. It was odd not having Kazuhira after her every day…did _she_ make things awkward? Or did _he_ make things awkward? The thoughts circled in her head as she shut her eyes. _Why am I even THINKING about this?_ She scolded herself. _You don't even care about him…_

"Lydia?" There it was. The voice she had been missing. It was almost music to her ears when it greeted her eardrums. The knot in her stomach loosened a bit as she turned her attention to Kaz whom had snuck up behind her at some point. "Heh, snuck up on you."

"Yeah…" She only stared at him, hopefully into his eyes…she couldn't really see their outline under the aviators at this angle. His face looked different…but she couldn't quite pin-point what the matter was. He wasn't as…smily.

"Looks like you're gonna be gone for a while." He scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah?" She retorted back. "Come on Kaz, you're not gonna miss me, are you?" She asked in good humor. But did she need an answer to that?

"Heh, you could say that." Kaz shoved his hands into his pockets. "And I need to keep dreaming that you're gonna miss me, yeah?"

"You better believe it." Lydia warmly smiled, a small amount of heat rising to her cheek. "But don't worry, I have you memorized, remember?" She pointed to her temple.

"Oh yeah? Do you think of me every now and then?" He raised an eyebrow… _there_ he was.

"What do _you_ think?" Lydia cocked an eyebrow back at him and folded her arms over her chest. She felt…comfortable? She felt better talking to Kaz like that…was she really going to miss him? What he the void in her stomach that was missing? Either way…she was enjoying talking to him again.

"I think you're coming on to me." Kaz leaned his body forward, backing her up toward the truck bed.

"And I think _you're_ dreaming." Lydia responded. "Kinda like how _I_ do?" She could feel her cheeks getting hotter the more she spoke. Was she enjoying this rush talking to him like that?! Lydia's butt hit against the truck, causing her to finally stop backing up. Kaz lifted up his left hand and placed it on the metal frame holding up the tarp that was draped in a dome across the truck bed.

He was so close…closer than he had ever been. He craned his tall body down, positioning his lips next to Lydia's left ear. His breath was warm and smelt freshly of mint. She could feel his eyes on her when he tilted his head to take a look into the corner of her eye. His lips were close to her bare neck. Goosebumps sprinted all along her arms the moment his hot breath hit her skin. "And I'll be seeing you when you get back, right?" Lydia's cheeks were probably a million shades of red as he backed off. He dragged his hand down the metal frame and replaced it by his side.

"R-r-right?" Lydia gulped.

"What, no witty response?" Kaz laughed. "Gosh, it's like you've actually fallen for me or something."

"Ugh, PLEASE!" Lydia rolled her eyes.

"You're gonna be begging me 'please' next time you see me." She couldn't see it, but he _totally_ winked under his aviators.

Lydia wanted to be angry and embarrassed at his jab back, but she couldn't help but smile. They hadn't conversed like that in a few weeks…too bad it was so short-lived. A feeling of guilt was to follow and crept up to Lydia's heart. One more emotion she could check off her list of one she never wanted to feel.

She never _wanted_ to ignore him. She never wanted to cut everything short. She was hurt when he had left her…but why? It's not like she had feelings for him. He was just her co-worker…or was he? Lydia stared at him longer than she should have, because it caused Kaz to grin in response. "What? See something you like?"

"Yeah, I do actually." Lydia shot back. "That's one good looking bungalow behind you."

"Tch." Kaz shook his head and planted his right hand to his hip, in slight disbelief.

"Hey…I'm gonna feel guilty if I don't say this before I leave." Lydia started, unfolding her arms and returning them to her sides.

"And what would that be?" Kaz urged on, probably knowing what was coming.

"Sorry about my behavior these past few weeks. I, uhh -"

"Nope, stop right there." Kaz held up his hand. "I get it. I wouldn't want to be around me either."

"Wow…you know how difficult you are? I mean…how self-aware can you be?" Lydia mischievously raised an eyebrow, throwing his words back at him.

"Ahhh, touché Lydia…touché." Lydia softly smiled with her lips; then her eyes caught some movement in the distance beyond Kaz's position. She leaned to her right to see Raven and four other guys marching their way to the truck with their belongings. Kaz turned around to greet the approaching soldiers. "Came to wish you guys luck on your journey." He held up a peace sign.

"Thank you Commander!" They saluted him.

"Alright, so who are the saps that are coming with me?" Lydia cracked her knuckles with no threatening intent. "I see Raven, Mosquito, Viper, Orca and last but not least Komodo Dragon. Nice. We've got some good muscle this time to save some people. The Boss chose well!"

"It's gonna be an honor working with you ma'am!" Orca, the palest of all gentleman vocalized. Orca had scraggly black hair with dark brown eyes. He had a tattoo of a bullet running across his left temple. He was always very nervous around her but always exceeded in getting any job done. He was an excellent planner and scouter. When and if the day comes that MSF is large enough, he would definitely be part of the intel crew.

Mosquito, the largest in stature of the line of men. He had a short temper, but knew how to get things done in a timely and efficient manner. There was no doubt that he was born for combat. He stood tall with nearly two-hundred fifty or so pounds of pure muscle. He was bald, only some of his brown hair showing to give him a crew-cut. His nose and mandible were crooked, probably from getting into too many fights. Not her _top_ choice to bring on a mission like this…but Snake must've picked him for a reason.

Viper, closest colleague to Raven, excelled in his skills of reconstruction and research. He was knowledgeable with weapons and construction in general. He definitely knew his way around anything, especially when it came to getting out of the mandatory daily exercise session.

Komodo Dragon shoulda been code-named something else…like Squirrel. He was a climber and a professional at reconnoissance on the field. He could work his way into the oddest of positions just because he could. He was always two steps ahead and ran into no issue on any mission, according to his reports. His face was flat and had a receding brown hairline. He was attempting to grow out facial hair…but he just wasn't there yet.

"Alright boys, load 'em up." She motioned her head to the truck bed. "Raven, you driving?"

"When am I _not_ driving?" He joked with a shrug, chucking his bag into the truck.

"Hey." Kazuhira grabbed all their attention. "Just so you know, all of you have been cleared with travel permits. I made sure the client threw that in so you don't have any trouble getting there and back." Kaz crossed his arms and puffed out his chest proudly.

"Gee thanks." Raven rolled his eyes. "If only we had permits last year."

"Hey, don't get so salty Raven." Lydia knuckle-punched him in the arm. "Commander Miller did us a solid."

"He's going to give _you_ a solid." Viper mumbled walking past her. The other guys laughed at Viper's subtle comeback.

"Hey, you took the words right out of my mouth." Kaz couldn't help but crack a smile.

"Alright, alright. That's enough." Lydia lifted her arms in the air in defeat. "Let's get a move on! I call shot-gun." The majority of men sighed at the declaration and crawled into the truck bed. "See ya." Lydia held out a peace sign to Kaz and jogged up to the passenger side, not wanting to stick around for his reaction. She crawled up into the cushioned seat and comfortably strapped herself in, awaiting the long four-day drive.

* * *

 **December 5th, 1973: 14:00**

Upon arriving on site, the destruction was insane. Injured innocents, rescuers, and volunteers littered the streets. They were digging through fallen buildings looking for missing persons or passing out food and water to people in need. It looked like a massive bomb had gone off. Nature was amazingly destructive. Lydia stood idle examining the barren, fallen surroundings. Not too long after arrival, Lydia was approached by an American Red Cross volunteer. "MSF? You must be the Sub-Commander Iris I've heard so much about. Thank you so much for coming."

"Pleasure is ours." Lydia held out her hand for the American man to shake. "How can we help?"

"Well we could use some help in out medical tents if you have someone with you that is a medic."

"A medic…" Lydia's head turned to Raven who was standing to her left. "Hey Raven, why don't you start there? If you need us we're only a radio call away."

"Yes ma'am." He nodded. "Where's the tent?"

The man lifted up his left arm and pointed to a large white tent about a half-mile away. "It's right down there. Go ahead and make yourself comfortable and familiar with any gear that we have." Raven nodded and began to jog to the designated area. "As for the rest of you, the majority of our help is needed in finding missing persons buried under rubble. There have been a multitude of rock slides and floods throughout, so there is no shortage of unpleasant scenery."

"Got it." Lydia answered.

"As for your rooming, we have everything covere-"

"There's no need for that." Lydia raised her hand to cut him off. "You have people out here suffering, why don't you give our beds to people who need it."

"Y-yes ma'am." The volunteer smiled.

"Alright men, let's hop to it." She clapped her palms together. "I'm going to move the truck to a more secure location. I'll meet you guys on the field."

"Yes ma'am." The four of them saluted and jogged off to help with any aid they could provide.

"Sir, if you wanna hop in and show me where I can park this thing?"

The next week was grueling; there was no doubt Peru needed MSF's help. If the American Red Cross could afford more soldiers to send down, they would absolutely need more help. It was a whole new world, battered and beaten citizens were mangled under debris. Most of them suffocated…a very rare amount alive. Once a week passed, the search was over. Whoever was buried was more than likely dead at this point.

Everyone kept their attitudes professional, but the one who outplayed the most was Raven. He had aided in saving nearly three-hundred lives, medically, since their arrival. He wasn't only a talented soldier, but a man as well. If she had the authority to promote him, he would definitely receive that honor.

Lydia had pulled out countless live and dead bodies from rubble. Most of them would look at her like she was some kind of savior…which made her realize something. All of the choices she's made…the ones that were in her hands. She could choose to pull out these people or leave them to die. She wasn't in this mission for herself…

There were people counting on her. Raven, Viper, Komodo Dragon, Orca, Mosquito, Snake…Kaz. When the thought of him crossed her mind, she couldn't help but feel a bit lonely. He started to creep into her mind in the oddest ways. She would imagine him sometimes possibly flirting with some of the depressed women to put a smile on their faces. He may had been an extreme flirt, but he grew on Lydia…even more so that she had not seen him in two weeks.

Lydia couldn't get him off her mind, there was something about him that she missed. No…she just missed _him_. Lydia smiled to herself underneath the South American sun. She wiped the trail of sweat away that was forming on her temple. The realization gave her stomach butterflies. "What're you smiling about, Sub-C?" Viper asked, taking a gulp of water from a plastic bottle.

"Oh nothing, just realized something, that's all." Lydia shook her head. "Just found it kinda funny." She had known Kaz for a long time…why hadn't she realized it sooner? Lydia shut her eyes and leaned her head back, taking in a deep breath of the clearing air. Through all the chaos going around her, there was a _peace_ that was always present in her life. She longed to see his face again, his blonde hair, those dazzling blue eyes. He haunted her every time she shut her eyes.

* * *

 **December 21, 1973: 15:00**

The cargo truck rolled back into it's usual spot near the main bungalow. The base looked different, there had been a small amount of construction done to the place so it didn't look as run-down. Lydia smiled as the truck came to a halt. She opened the passenger door and crawled out, landing in the soft sand. The weather was much nicer, especially by the ocean.

The door to the command office opened, followed by Snake making his appearance. He had a cigar in-hand, nodding at their arrival. The men piled out of the truck and saluted Boss, while Lydia only nodded. "Back safe, Boss." She spoke up. After her statement was delivered, Kazuhira waltzed out of the command room as well, standing to Snake's right.

"Thanks for all your hard work. I heard nothing but good things when we received payment."

"Thank you, Commander." The soldiers saluted Kaz's presence then went back to a relaxed state.

"Alright guys, go ahead and get your stuff. I think we all deserve the rest of the day off." Lydia looked at Snake for approval…which he nodded his head at the suggestion.

"Thank you, Sub-C! You're the best!" Orca smiled, the first one to retrieve his things. Once all her comrades left, Snake returned to his office. Leaving Lydia and Kaz alone.

"Just in time for Christmas." Lydia shrugged with a smile on her face. "Looks like I'm gonna be home for the holidays." Kaz walked down the small wooden steps and stopped a few feet short from Lydia.

"Here, I'll help you with your things." Kaz held out his right hand for her to pass on her bag to him.

"So chivalrous." Lydia cocked her eyebrow and handed him her bag from the trunk. "Thank you, Kaz."

"Just helpin' a lady out." Kaz brought up his left hand and formed it into the shape of a pistol and clicked his tongue against the inside of his cheek. Lydia dramatically placed her hands over her abdomen.

"Ohhh, you got me you scoundrel."

"Phew, well it's a good thing I used non-lethals so you can fall asleep in my arms." Lydia rolled her eyes and dropped her arms back to her sides, earning a few laughs from Kaz. The laugh she wanted to hear for so long.

"Alright Kaz, that's enough." Lydia softly smiled, keeping eye contact with him until she began the short journey to her bungalow.

"What's with _that_ look?" Kaz raised an eyebrow, leaning in closer to her as she walked past him.

"What's with _what_ look?" She shrugged, lifting her forearms up in a questioning manner, pretending to not know what he was talking about. Kaz jogged up and walked at her side, evening the pace.

"You _really_ haven't fallen for me now, have you?" Kaz nudged her arm with his elbow.

"Keep dreaming Kaz." Lydia laughed, angling her head to get a better view of his face. Deep down in her heart, she knew that was a lie. She ached to spend time with him the moment he walked out of that office. The butterflies came back, this time fluttering in her chest when he flashed her a sweet smile with his perfect teeth. This was something different…something she had felt once before. Something she thought that she would never feel again.


	29. Chapter 29

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise!**

 **Author's Note: Happy belated everything all my fellow readers! I hope all of your holidays were special! Mine, on the other hand, were just the worst. Appendicitis snuck up on me and I had to be admitted into the hospital. And here I am like "Ummm doc, I'm a super healthy twenty-three y/o lady...how dafuq did I get this?" *shrugs* So these past couple of weeks, I've been recovering from my surgery...which went fine (yay I'm alive!). I missed updating! Thank you to everyone for your patience! Here is the next chapter! Be prepared, this one has a LOT of backstory for a certain character! :D**

 **MATURE CONTENT WARNING: Mentions of violence, Sexual content.**

* * *

 **"On a stormy sea of moving emotion,**

 **Tossed about I'm like a ship on the ocean.**

 **I set a course for the winds of fortune, but**

 **I hear the voices say:**

 **Carry on my wayward son,**

 **For there'll be peace when you are done.**

 **Lay your weary head to rest,**

 **Now don't you cry no more."**

 **-Kansas**

* * *

 **December 22, 1973: 08:00**

Lydia opened her eyes to a dark room, it must've been cloudy outside. Lydia sat up from her bed and stretched her arms toward the roof, letting out a long yawn. While she had been gone in Peru, Kaz had invested in some full-size and twin beds for Lydia and the other men to sleep on to sleep on… _much_ better than the small piece of crap she had been sleeping on for nearly a year. Lydia pushed the thin sheets off of her body. She swung her legs over the side of the bed, letting her half-naked form greet the naturally cool air. After standing up, she walked to her small dresser and got dressed into a black long-sleeve shirt with olive-colored cargo pants. After putting on some black combat boots, she grabbed a hairband that was littered on the floor and slid it onto her wrist. Her long hair fell almost to her elbows; the perfect length.

Lydia walked to her door and opened it, greeted with different weather. The sky was loaded with gray and black clouds; a storm was blowing in from the ocean. The waves were tall and violent in the distance…a surfer's paradise if they weren't worried about their life. Her blonde hair whipped around at nature's cold greeting. Lydia grabbed a hold of her hair and brushed it with her fingers to fall over her right shoulder. She split her hair into three pieces and began to braid the locks, keeping an eye out on the ocean. She could see lightning approaching in the distance. Bright yellow and white flashes…this wasn't going to be a fun storm. Not one bit.

"Good morning Sub-C!" Orca, one of the soldiers that had been on the mission, greeted. It looked like he was just finishing up with a morning jog. "It looks like you slept in!"

"Yeah, looks like it. Because it's so gloomy out here, jeez." She tied off the end of the braid with the band and stepped away from her cabin.

"I've never seen you with a braid in your hair ma'am. It looks nice!" He complimented, blushing, before he ran off.

"Thanks?" She scrunched up her face, too late to give a response to his nervous sentiment. Lydia took one step forward down the wooden steps with her left leg. Upon planting it on the bottom step, it gave out underneath her. "Whoa!" Her left knee buckled underneath the weight. Sand granules met Lydia's face as she plummeted right into the sand; her arms spread out in complete failure. She groaned, lifting her head up and turning it so her left cheek was resting on the rough sand. She puffed out air from her mouth and frowned when she saw Snake in the distance, almost about to crack up laughing. _I already know what kind of day it's gonna be._ Lydia dragged her arms to a position where she was able to lift herself up off the ground and stand on her two feet.

Lydia lifted her hands up to her face and dusted off any sand from her skin. She patted off her shoulders next, followed by her torso, arms, and finally her legs. "That was quite the fall." Snake grumbled. "It looks like you need to work on your reflexes." Lydia's eye twitched in aggravation.

"My reflexes are just fine, thank you." She crossed her arms over her chest. "I just slipped, that's all."

"You need to pay attention to that left leg." Snake started. Here it is…here comes the lecture. There was no way he didn't notice it giving out from under her weight. "I think you should lay off the cardio and only do it twice a week. I feel like strength training in your legs to build up muscle would be beneficial so you don't have your leg give out on you in an inopportune moment."

"Yessir." Lydia sighed. "I'll go ahead and adjust my schedule to make changes."

"Good. But that isn't what I came by to tell you." Lydia raised her eyebrow in anticipation.

"What's up, Boss?"

"I'm giving MSF the rest of the month off. We've been doing great lately and I worked out the funds with Kaz. From our numbers, it looks like everyone can afford a small vacation. We'll kick back up at the start of the year."

"Oh, that's very generous of you." Lydia smiled and placed a hand on her hip. "Thank you, Boss."

"Hmph, don't mention it." He reached up his right hand and patted her on the shoulder twice, something he hadn't done in a while. "Don't get into too much trouble, kid." Snake nodded and began to retrace his steps back to his own bungalow. _No matter how old I get, I'm always gonna stay that sixteen year-old kid he threw around._ Lydia sighed to herself and brought her hands back up to her braid.

She untied the end of it and brushed her hair out of the style, then proceeded to shake it out in an attempt to get all the sand out of it. No doubt she would be needing to take a shower. She combed her fingers through her hair one more time and braided her hair a second time, letting the tail fall over her right shoulder. Lydia kept her eyes on the angry horizon, the storm only getting closer.

To the left, she heard footsteps in the shifting sand. She turned her head to see Raven, coming back from a jog as well. "'Mornin' Sub-C." He greeted, stopping at her left side. "That's quite the storm we have coming our way." Lydia's features fell as she returned her eyes to the barrage of lightning in the distance. The lightning travelled violently in the sky and could faintly hear the booming of thunder. From the looks of it, it wasn't gonna go easy on the base, that's for sure.

"Hey, why don't you tell the guys to start storm-proofing the place? Set up tarps and stuff?"

"Yes ma'am. We'll get on it right away."

"Expect a big storm coming in in the next few hours. The wind is already starting to pick up." With a nod, Raven jogged off to one of the larger cabins to stir up the rest of the crew. Lydia waltzed a few paces toward the stirring ocean. She stood on the shoreline, the warm water caressing her feet through her boots. Uneasiness crept inside her heart. The darkness in the distance engulfed any light that had the even slightest chance of breaking through. She inhaled through her nose and shut her eyes from reality.

Following the exhale was the roaring of a plane engine soaring above her. The rumbling echoed through her ears as it zoomed above her head. The gust whiplashed around her body as the plane flew farther away. Another inhale. It felt like the ocean was pulling her in toward the storm there was already no escape from. She opened her green eyes with the next exhale, her vision still on the somber horizon.

At the faint boom of thunder, something sloshed in the rising water. Lydia's eyes followed the noise as she caught the familiar rolled-up pants of Kazuhira Miller. Her green eyes travelled up the side of his body and caught the side of his face…he was taking in the greatness of the approaching storm. "Something on your mind?" Kaz opened up. Lydia reverted her gaze back to the menacing atmosphere.

"Nah, just not a big fan of rain is all."

"Afraid of a little water?" She could tell Kaz cracked a smile at the slight hypocrisy he sensed. No doubt this storm was going to haunt her, she was already trying her best to suppress the memories that were slowly resurfacing themselves. She wanted to kick them back down, but it was growing inevitable. Lydia's raised her right hand and caressed the side of her neck, the scars from the past tingling under her touch.

Kaz snaked his way into her vision, positioning himself in front of her, to cut off her view of the storm. "You look half-dead." His tone was serious. "All the color is gone from your skin, not very suitable look for a pretty woman like you." Lydia couldn't help but form a half-smile when she spotted the haze of his bright blue eyes under his aviators. "Now that's a smile I could get used to." A hint of pink flushed back to Lydia's cheeks as she kept her eyes on him. Kaz knew something was wrong, there was no way she would look at him this long without saying something offensive to his ego.

"You know what?" Kaz clapped his hands together and rubbed his palms while he conjured up an idea to pitch. "We should go into the city. I'm sure the boss wouldn't mind. And we just got a jeep in, I could drive you myself." Was Kaz trying to take her mind off of what was barreling toward them? If so, it was working for the time being…and she needed a break.

Lydia shrugged and snagged her bottom lip with her teeth. She sucked in air and scrunched up her face. " _Or_ we can just stay here? I'm done driving around for a while."

"You sure? There is a _sushi_ place that opened up in town?" There it was. The tug of temptation. "I'll treat you to a dinner and some sake, how 'bout it?"

"That…" Lydia started, watching Kaz's face light up at the word. "Sounds like a fantastic idea, Kaz. I haven't had sushi since I'd lived in the States."

"Alright." Kaz crossed his arms. "Well, I'll go get the jeep ready and you come strolling by when you're all set to go." He nodded in victory.

"You got it." Lydia chuckled out, turning away from Kaz. She walked back to her bungalow and opened the door. Once shut, she slid off her boots and half-wet pants, tossing them into some corner of the room. She retrieved a new pair of green pants and slid them on, ignoring the dull pain in her left leg. After lacing up some black combat boots she made her way over to Kaz, whom had just pulled up to the loading dock with the new jeep. It was logo-less and in pretty good shape, no doubt a good amount of GMP went to its purchase.

Lydia opened the passenger door and crawled in, buckling herself tightly into the leather-like seat. "I'm ready." Lydia held a thumbs up to Kaz, who returned the gesture. The ride into the city was boring and the sky was growing more ominous by the minute. By the time they made it out to the restaurant, the streets were nearly empty.

"Alright, we're here." Kaz smiled, parking the jeep. "You know, I haven't had sushi in a while either. Guess I'll be one hell of a critic."

"Maybe if you complain enough, they'll give us free food." Lydia chuckled, sliding out of the vehicle.

"Maybe, just maybe." Kaz guided Lydia to the door and opened it for her. The inside of the joint was very casual; a sit-down place with a bar in the back where the chefs prepared the food.

"Hello!" An Asian male with dark brown hair greeted, walking from the back. He had on a white apron, obviously carrying the status of one of the chefs as well. Kaz spoke but Lydia couldn't understand a word that fell from his mouth. The eyes of the chef immediately lit up the moment Kaz started talking. Lydia tucked in her lips to her mouth the more they talked and laughed. It wasn't too long after their conversation carried on when the man walked them to a table.

As Kaz and Lydia took their seats he let out a throaty chuckle. "The first two rounds of sake are on the house." Kaz crossed his arms over his chest in victory.

"How about that." Lydia complimented.

"It's been so long since I've conversed in Japanese. I've got to come here more often." Kaz smiled at her.

"Ha, that's good." Lydia tapped her fingers against the wooden table. A strong gust of wind whistled through the door, causing Lydia's eyes to float to the entrance. Lydia felt more uneasy as time passed in the small restaurant. There was no denying that the food was good, she thought she would be sick of fish by now, especially when MSF ate it so often...but this glorious meal proved otherwise.

She kept her alcohol intake light, knowing she would be more venerable. She and Kaz both stuck to the two rounds of warm sake. Nearing the end of the meal, Lydia caught Kaz's attention. "Hey, I'm gonna run to the restroom real quick."

"Don't worry, I won't leave ya." Kaz grinned, taking a sip of water from a glass. Lydia stood up from her chair and walked into the women's designated restroom. The tile was a boring gray color; the stalls were a stark white. There was a small rectangular screened window that let in some rain from outside. Lydia walked into one of the stalls only to be greeted with a massive headache.

"Nnngh." She groaned, her hands instantly forming around her cranium. The rush of pain was so bad, bile made its way into her mouth. With a cough, Lydia spilled her guts into one of the toilets. Instantly flushing, she wiped her mouth with her sleeve. _Ahhh shit, there goes my food._ Another pulse of pain radiated through her mind. "Ahhh fuck." She sat on the cold tile, cradling her head in her hands. A bright flash covered her eyes, almost blinding her. Lydia ducked her head down and tightly shut her eyes. She was only greeted by the scarring face of Volgen.

Her eyes shot open, daring not to shut her eyes again. "No, no, no. Get a hold of yourself. He's not here. He's not here." She tried to console herself as a loud boom of thunder crashed through her eardrums. She could hear the base of the monster's voice creep up in the back of her mind. Trying everything to break free from his prison.

Behind her, she heard the squeaking of the door followed by heavy footsteps. Lydia froze in her place, holding in any kind of breath that wanted to escape her lungs. The steps halted behind her; the demonic presence standing tall in its dormant place. Lydia's bottom lip trembled as she had the courage to close her eyes. The stench of burning flesh starting to radiate off her skin.

 _"Wakey, wakey."_

Lydia didn't want to open her eyes. _He_ would be there if she did. His form standing before her chained body. Her body started to jerk around, shoulders shaking. There was someone calling out to her…it was faint…but someone was calling her name. His voice was familiar…was it Ocelot?

A stinging sensation on her left cheek is what caused Lydia to shoot her eyes open. Her gaze met light blue, a color she had often missed. "Hey, hey. You're ok." Kaz. He was instantly talking in a calm, composed manner. His hands wrapped firmly on her shoulders. Where was she? Lydia was surrounded by different scenery, they were in some kind of motel room. She was sitting on the edge of a comfortable bed. "You passed out…" Kaz trailed off, backing away from her. "You really meant it when you said you weren't a fan of rain, huh?"

"S-sorry." Lydia hugged herself. Kaz sat in the vacant spot next to her.

"There's no need." Kaz waved his hand. "You were having one hell of a nightmare, sorry I slapped you. Nothing would wake you up." Lydia touched her left cheek with her left hand.

"Thanks, I didn't want to be stuck in that nightmare. Not again." She dropped her hand to her side.

"Again?" Kaz asked softly. He had turned his body and sat cross-legged on the bed.

"Y-yeah." She gulped and licked her dry lips.

"Lydia." Kaz extended his right hand and firmly planted it on her knee. Lydia craned her head to look at Kaz in his unshielded eyes. She hadn't noticed, but he was in a plain white short-sleeve shirt. His hair was ruffled around from being out in the rain. He was flustered…that's for sure.

"Kaz…" Lydia dropped her arms and rested her hands on her thighs. "You meant it when you said I could confide in you…right?"

"I always mean what I say." _That_ was debatable. Lydia extended her legs and stood up from the bed. She turned her body around and walked to the side of the bed Kaz wasn't occupying. Lydia took a seat adjacent to him on the queen-size bed and rested her back on the headboard.

"We go through things that are meant to test us. There are lessons that we hold onto only for a short time while some stick around for the rest of your life." She didn't look at Kaz, only at the plain, boring wall in front of them. Lydia inhaled deeply and shut her eyes. Her head lolled to her left to look at Kaz's crossed legs. "I've thought for a while…and you told me once that it's good to get a hold of and accept things that have happened in the past and move on. And then I question myself…how the hell do I move on from something that I'm reminded of every day?" Lydia returned her head to middle-ground, staring at the wall again. She rubbed her right cheek with her left hand briefly before letting it fall to her lap. Kaz moved from his spot and changed his position to the foot-board of the bed. He still sat cross-legged but his eyes were searching her.

What was he looking for? Answers? "Start with your triggers." Kaz spoke up. "I'm no therapist, but I am a pretty good outlet. You just gotta plug yourself in." Lydia's eyes softened at the innuendo. "Oh, no, Lydia. Not in that way." Kaz slapped his own forehead in embarrassment, something she thought she would never see from him!

"I get it." Lydia softly smiled with her lips. "I guess…"

"Why don't you start from the beginning?"

"The beginning?" Lydia questioned, making sure she heard him correctly.

"Yeah, we'll take turns." Kaz smiled sweetly. "You tell me your past, and I'll tell you mine. Fair trade? This way you can get things off your chest with a reward at the end. And a bonus is that you're not talking to a stone wall."

"A reward?" Lydia wanted to laugh. "Alright, Kaz. If you're in for one crazy story, then I guess you're on."

"Talking about things always make me feel better. Not to mention, I'm pretty sure with _me_ around…it'll make you feel better too."

"Well…I'm warning you…it _might_ get uncomfortable for me." Lydia looked away from him.

"Just tell me what you can, you're in charge here." Kaz crossed his arms over his chest.

"A-alright." Lydia nodded. "So, I guess my childhood didn't start out too well. Like you, I grew up a fatherless child. When I came home from school one day, I smelt something like…burnt _fish_." Lydia shut her eyes at the memory. "I walked into my restroom and saw my mother lying in a bathtub with the toaster plugged in. Her eyes had been dried out and her skin was searing under the water. She had electrical burns all over her…it was an awful sight. After the state recovered me, that's when I was in and out of foster care…which I already told you about. As a kid, I always loved puzzles and solving things and I guess that followed me all the way to the CIA. I guess when I was little, it was a good escape from the harsh reality I was in. After my excelling in school, I was accepted into MIT and then was offered a job under David Oh for his FOX unit. I was only sixteen."

"Sixteen? And in the US CIA?" Kaz nodded. "Even I think that's a little too young to join any type of security…but there are kids now a days participating in wars even younger than that."

"I hear ya. And I think back…what would have happened if I said 'no' to the Major?" Lydia solemnly contemplated. "I wouldn't be here if I did…and this is the happiest time of my life." Lydia smiled, feeling tears want to work their way up to the ducts. She kept them at bay. "When the Major thought I was ready, he sent me on my first solo mission when I was eighteen. It was an assassination mission for this guy named…uhh…I forget his name after all this time, but he was garbage, apparently. Anyway, on the way there, our plane was greeted by some lightning storm that seemingly formed out of nothing. Our plane crashed and the pilot and I were stranded out in USSR enemy territory. The pilot didn't live till morning and I was pretty messed up myself." Lydia reached down to her left pant leg and started to roll up the sleeve.

Her eyes looked at Kaz to see him following her hands up her left leg. His breathing was steady like he wasn't nervous at all. Lydia folded up her pant leg and twisted her leg enough so Kaz could see the giant, gruesome scar on her left thigh. That and the bullet-hole entry around the area. She pointed to the jagged, odd-shaped scars from the codec. "This one right here, my radio broke up into pieces and lodged itself into my leg." She traced her finger to the bullet wound. "This one is from later, but I got it in the USSR too. It was from a guy that wanted revenge on me. He was a bad shot, that's for sure."

Lydia's eyes shut at the sound of thunder interrupting her reflection. She held her lips shut and a stinging sensation radiated from her right cheek. She could feel his imprint on her stomach when his gigantic fist collided against her body. Lydia's eyes opened back up when she felt Kaz's hand wrap itself around her ankle. "Anyway…I was captured and tortured…but I got myself into that situation. I was hiding in a hollowed-out tree and thought I could opt out with a venomous snake that was crawling on me. It only helped in my capture. When I awoke… _Volgen_ …" The name left a bitter taste in her mouth. She could taste the metallic liquid at the mention of him…the smell of her searing flesh. "He was the one who tortured me. He was some kind of…inhuman."

Lydia grazed her hand along her right cheek and traced her thumb against the scar running along her cheek-bone. "That's where I got this and much worse. He poured water on me and electrocuted me until I passed out…all for information that I would never give him." Lydia shut her eyes tight and clenched her fists. "You know what happens when electricity collides with water?" Lydia scoffed at the question. "I was all too familiar with the subject…and when the smell of my own burning flesh his my nostrils, I knew I was done-for."

"But you weren't. There was a reason why you lived." Kaz added. Lydia opened her eyes; Kaz had crawled closer to her. This time, he was sitting adjacent to her hip, still facing her. "You escaped somehow, and that's what led you here to this exact moment."

"He left me beaten and scarred." Lydia lifted up her right hand and placed it on the right crevice of her neck where her electrical scarring started behind her ear. "I had escaped and found my way into the hands of Major Ocelot…let me tell you… _he_ was a piece of work." Lydia threw her arm back down. "He showed be the slightest act of kindness and ended up being my only ally. When I escaped, he kept me hidden in his quarters. I would be lying if I said I didn't fall in love with him." Lydia sighed. "He kept me safe, he nursed me back to health and was the reason I was able to get back home."

"If I was locked in the same room with someone for months, I would develop feelings for that person, too." Kaz agreed. "It's only natural to cling to someone for survival. In your case, I suppose it was this… _Major_?"

"Yeah. I recently asked Snake what had happened to him. He's still alive, but I've come to realize it wasn't meant to be. He was some kind of…double agent. His connection to my boss at the time was how I was able to make it back home."

"And then you were deported?"

"When I came back, the nation, CIA, and the President were pissed and thought I was some kind of soviet sympathizer because I had been ' _compromised'_. But hey…moving away from the States was the best thing that has happened."

"Wow, you've had quite the life so far, Lydia." Kaz smiled to himself. "Through the good and bad, you've survived somehow. I guess that's what it's all about."

"Yeah." Lydia smiled to herself.

"And guess what?"

"What?" Lydia raised an eyebrow and looked at Kaz, who was pointing to the ceiling.

"The rain's let up a little bit and I noticed the thunder is all gone." Lydia extended her hand and rested it on Kazuhira's knee.

"Thank you…Kaz." Lydia felt lighter somehow. A weight had risen off of her…all she needed was some type of distraction. Some type of reflection in a healthy way. She hadn't realized the rain had stopped, the thunder and lightning were long-gone. The one thing left before her was Kaz. Kazuhira Miller. The half-Japanese man who went out of his way to make her feel comfortable in the worst situation.

"Any time, Lydia." Her name fell from his lips so easy, like he had been practicing it. The kind look in his blue eyes mixed with her relaxed greens. His hand found its way on top of hers. He held it and brought it up to his lips, lightly brushing them against her knuckles. Lydia's face felt hot at the motion when Kaz guided her hand back down to the bed. "If you ever feel those memories getting the best of you, think back to this moment." He squeezed her hand tighter. "I was here for you. I _am_ here for you, Lydia Matthews."

The oddest part about this moment was that Kazuhira was serious. The look in his eyes and the demeanor of his body showed he cared ten-fold. "Now I know." Lydia smiled.

"And maybe one day you can uhhh…" He stopped mid sentence, this time probably thinking before he spoke. "Never mind." He dodged. Lydia wanted to bust a gut, he wanted to say something inappropriate, but was scared of ruining the mood. Lydia removed her hand from his grasp and rolled her pant leg back down to her ankle.

"What about you, Kaz? Tell me more about yourself." Lydia urged on. "I want to learn more about you."

"You actually _want_ to?" Kaz raised an eyebrow and slightly narrowed his handsome eyes.

"Uhhh…yes?" She tried to sound as straight-forward as possible without feeling embarrassed. "And you told me yourself you would! I'm just following through, that's all."

"Ahhh, well what _is_ there to know about Kazuhira Miller, huh?" He crossed his arms, the cogs in his head turning, thinking about where to possibly start. "Well, my mom, living in Tokyo at the time, had lost her family and home in a raid from the United States back in March of 1945. She had no other choice but to move to Yokosuka and live with her cousin. Raids kept coming, razing other major cities throughout Japan without mercy. You see…the majority of houses in Japan then were made out of wood. So you can only imagine the destruction." Kaz frowned. "Then the atomic bombs were dropped in August…and not long after Japan had finally surrendered to the US. After that, Yokosuka was flooded with American soldiers come to occupy the country. My mother, bless her heart, was still in her mid-teens, and she learned from her cousin how to survive in that town - by _servicing_ the troops."

Lydia folded her legs together and watched Kaz carefully as he spoke of his past. His eyes were theatrical, a mix of emotions flowing through them like a roaring river. His mother had a rough life, no body deserved to go through what she had. "Is that how she met your father?" Lydia added when he paused.

"And if you put two and two together, that's how I was born." Kaz smiled, probably thinking of early memories of his mother. "You see, my father was an officer serving with the Government Section of Allied GHQ, under General Whitney. My father road his coattails to a pretty high rank."

"Impressive." Lydia admitted. "It's all about who you know."

"I'm pretty sure you can relate." Kaz nodded. "You were admitted to MSF because you personally knew Snake. What were the chances of you joining if you had no idea who he was?"

"I don't know, I hadn't thought of that."

"Well, while my dad was stationed in Japan he treated my mom like a wife. When he went back to the States, though, she never heard from him. I wasn't born until after he went back. My mom raised me as a single mother. She used the money my father left her to open that shop I told you about that sold cigarettes and stuff to occupation troops."

"Oh right, your first job." Lydia acknowledged.

"It was a decent living to start out. But I didn't have citizenship. I think they're working to change the law now, but back then, if your father was unknown you couldn't get onto the Japanese family register. And well…in Japan, that means you can't be Japanese. So as I watched the American soldiers around town, I said to myself over and over: 'I'm a son of America, the victor'. I told myself I'd leave this country someday and return to my true homeland." Kaz sighed and his features fell. "When I was around ten years old, my mom fell ill…pretty much leaving me to run the shop in her place. Then, one day, I found a single picture of my father in the back of a drawer in the shop. I had studied it for days and I'd show it to the American soldiers who came into the store. A few years went by before one of them recognized him and told me who he was. He told me his name was Miller. After that I started asking other customers if they knew where Miller was.

"I had figured out he had left the service and was making a living as an instructor for soldiers in Virginia. It was one of his students that had finally told me that. I had the guts to write him a letter in what English I knew. I wanted to do everything to see him, to finally meet the man behind the curtain. I sent of the letter and waited for what had seemed like a life-time. Then just when I was about to give up, the post office delivered my future to the door." Kaz smiled and looked down at his hands. "Because of that, I learned that patience is everything. If I had given up, who knows if that letter was still going to be delivered? Giving up hope had never been in my nature. Hell, I thought my dream was gonna come true.

"But I was only thinking of myself. My dad had sent me travel money and I had to convince my bedridden mother to let me go. My dad arranged a jet-black car to pick me up. When the neighborhood kids who'd always made fun of my hair saw it their jaws practically hit the ground. With the left over-money I had saved, I put my mom in a hospital and went to America.

"When I met my father for the first time, he was living along in a big house. He had told me he'd lost his son…his American son…in Vietnam. I should've expected that he would have a family, but then he showed me a picture of my older brother. Now that I think of it, I guess that his divorce left my father feeling lonely and that's why he finally too an interest in me. He'd retired from teaching. He was stooped over, could hardly walk. Nothing like I imagined he would be. But while I was there he gave me two things: the name Miller and money for school.

"I stayed in the US for a while and used the money to learn English then go to college. Right after I graduated, I went back to Japan. Alone. When I offered, my father had refused to see my mom. It was the first time I'd seen her in years, and she wouldn't even…look at me." Kaz's face looked confused. "That look in her eye…at first I thought she was mad at me…but that wasn't it. A disease she had contracted had taken over. She…she didn't even know who I was." Kaz tapped his fingers against his knee. Lydia studied him, he was emotionally distraught. His mom had meant everything to him back then, the way he talked about her. He wished she was still around…what would she think of him now? No doubt she would be proud. He was a good man, and a tough one at that.

"I tried, I introduced myself back to her. I said 'Mom, it's me, Kazuhira'. And as I spoke, the sound of my own voice rang in my ears. Kazuhira." He looked into Lydia's eyes. "That was the name my mom gave me. It mean's 'peace' in Japanese. I was Japanese, I was the son of this tiny Japanese woman that had been there for me all along. It was in that moment, for the first time, that I understood the reason - the emotion- that inspired my mother to give me that name. She had watched everything and everyone she loved go up in flames. Her body and mind were ravaged by war…and yet she chose to have a child named 'peace'. Even with a man who was once her enemy."

He looked like he was about to cry. Lydia could see the gloss over his eyes form with every blink. "Do you keep her with you?" Lydia asked, catching Kaz off guard.

"What?"

"Do you keep her with you?"

"Like a photo?"

"If you have one, I would like to see her." A smile formed on Kaz's face that she had never seen before. Blush had risen to his cheeks to give him a light pink shade.

"I have one back at base. When we return, I'll introduce you."

"That would be nice." Lydia smiled in response. "So what happened after you got back? From what we pulled on you, you were in the JSDF for a little while, right?"

"Yeah, I was twenty-two at the time I started. Japan was on the verge of becoming on the most powerful economic countries out there. I did it to pay our bills…but it wasn't just that. I could have found work anywhere. And I knew it. And still, I couldn't think of anything else to do with myself. Then my mom had passed two years later. After her death, I left the JSDF and went back to the States to discover my dad had already been dead and buried. I was told he'd shot himself in the head."

"Something else we have in common. My father served in Germany. A few months after I was born, he had shot himself, too."

"America crushed both our fathers. And after I found _that_ out, my American Dream was pretty much over. That's what led me to drift around and well…that's when I met you and Snake. I was spawned by war. But I don't want to die in one. I won't die for a country, and I won't live like a pauper. I won't have my fate decided by some family register. If I stick with you and Boss, I've got a good feeling none of that will happen." Lydia brought her knees to her chest and hugged them.

"And I have a feeling you'll be sticking around for a long time." Lydia's featured softened as she rested her right cheek on her knee to look at Kaz. She saw the blush rising to Kaz's cheeks again as he scratched his scalp. Watching him put her at ease. Lydia's eyes fluttered closed, not even realizing she was tired.

"Now if you sleep like that, you're gonna have one hell of a back-ache." Kaz rubbed Lydia's back to straighten her up out of her curled position. "There you go. Now why don't you get comfortable?" Kaz offered. "We're not going anywhere anytime soon. Might as well use this room for what it was made for." Kaz flushed his back against the mattress and sprawled out. Lydia leaped out of the mattress in a rush, while Kaz laughed. He propped himself up on his elbows and looked at her figure.

"What?!"

"I think you have a dirtier mind than me." Kaz winked. "You're safe with me Lydia, you don't have to worry about a thing. Why don't you take a shower first?" Kaz motioned toward the hotel room's bathroom.

"Nah…why don't you go first, I insist?" Kaz crunched his upper body and swung himself out of the bed.

"If you insist." Kaz surrendered. "I'll be out in a bit." He held up a peace sign before emerging himself into the restroom. Lydia sighed at his disappearance and looked around the dull hotel room. She unbuttoned her pants and slid them off, the colder air making her skin crawl. She pulled off her shirt next and dropped it to the ground. Turning toward the bed, Lydia pulled back the comforter and thin sheet and decided to crawl in. The covers returned to a position that was resting above her neck. Lydia was facing away from the restroom, her eyes drifting closed to the sound of the running water from the barricaded room.

After getting all that off her chest, she felt a lot better. She didn't even feel comfortable telling Snake what had happened to her. Kaz had a rough childhood from the start, another thing that they had in common. He was growing on her more than before, but what was this feeling? She felt a mix of uneasiness and joy. Lydia shut her eyes in contemplation as the knot in her stomach twisted tighter.

Kaz had accepted her with open arms. He didn't care where she came from or what her past was. He didn't run away this time. Opening up to him right then, that's all she needed for the final push. She could finally take a hold of her past and accept it. The scars she carried just weren't ones from pain and suffering, but from triumph. She had survived the cold, murderous intent of a madman and the heart-wrenching nature of Ocelot. The next time she would look at herself in the mirror, she would be proud of the scars because they reflected her strength in a time where she thought she had none.

 **Kaz's POV**

After washing his hair and body, Kaz turned off the water and stepped out of the tub. He moved his boxer-briefs over his hips to cover himself before walking back out. The room was dark and Lydia was unmoving in the bed. Kaz pulled back the covers on the side of the bed Lydia wasn't resting on. "Lydia?" He whispered out to her. She was sleeping, her body hidden under the thick covers. Kaz smiled to himself as he crawled into bed himself.

The moment his body hit the mattress, curiosity struck him. He turned to face her back, which was the part exposed to him. He gently lifted up the comforter and pulled them down to reveal her bare skin, only covered by the fabric of her black bra. Her left side was clear. As his eyes guided along her body, he saw the start of some type of scarring. Kaz lifted up his hand and touched her back, where the scar disrupted her body. He glided his fingers along the odd pattern that stretched across her right side; all the way up to her neck.

Even with the light pink scarring, her skin was soft and beautiful. These must have been what was left behind from the torture she had suffered. Kaz frowned as he traced his fingers back down her spine, which caused Lydia to let out a light snore. "Oh?" He whispered to himself. "You like that, huh?" Avoiding her bra strap, Kaz gently rubbed her back which sent her into a deeper slumber. A smile worked back to his face…how was he so content? He'd been wanting to break down her walls, although he had been successful, she had shattered his as well. She wasn't just some warm body anymore.

The way she was looking at him earlier. These past few months even. It was a look he had never seen on a woman before. He said it a lot, but could it be that Lydia had _really_ fallen for him? What made him _want_ to touch her? His hand grazed along her bra strap, trying everything in his power to not unhook it. She was something alright. They had a lot more in common than he thought…and more than that. She understood where he came from and accepted his past. He was comfortable speaking with her about it…he hadn't done so in a long time.

Kaz retracted his hand and flushed his back to the mattress when he noticed he had been turned on by her sleeping figure. She was a beautiful woman. Kaz shut his eyes and slid his right hand down his abdomen to relieve his erect member. "Shit." He whispered as he took it's base into a firm grip. "Why do you always do this to me?"


	30. Chapter 30

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise**

 **Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who reviewed/subscribed to this story! :D I realized I didn't reply to any of the reviews set for Chapter 28 lol. Sorry! But anyway, I just finished writing a part that's headed up in the near future that just makes this story dark as balls. I'm just sitting here all: "Can't I just stay happy in Peace Walker forever?!" NO. KOJIMA SAYS NO. Anyway, thank you for sticking around so long! We've made it to Chapter 30! Woo! Only two chapters of pre-Peace Walker slow-burn ya'll!**

 **And just a reminder about mature content: please (as I said in chapter one) please read at your own risk! I provide warnings if there is something out of the ordinary! To be honest some future chapters are going to get pretty crazy in more ways than one.**

 **CaptainMc (Chap 28):** Yes, yes! All is well now! I hope these next few chapters made your Tuesdays better :D

 **Guest K (Chap 28 &29)**: Raven is just The Shit! I think I may have Snake give him that official title. lol. But yeah all is good! No need to worry for I am alive and well only one less innard short of what I was last week lol xD I'm glad you enjoyed chapter 29! That was one hell of a chapter to write cuz I wanted to involve some character development for Kaz (although we all know who he is) solely because Lydia didn't really know anything about his personal life and they've spent SO much time together since '72! It was lengthy, but I'm glad I pulled it off! *thumbs up*

* * *

 **"Sharing horizons that are new to us.**

 **Watching the signs along the way.**

 **Talkin' it over, just the two of us.**

 **Workin' together day to day…**

 **And when the evening comes, we smile.**

 **So much life ahead,**

 **We'll find a place where there's room to grow.**

 **And yes, we've just begun."**

 **-Carpenters**

* * *

 **December 23, 1973: 10:40**

Lydia stirred awake with a fragile shake to her shoulder. "Lydia." It was Kaz. Lydia's eyes peered open to catch Kaz kneeling at her bedside with a goofy smile on his face. "There she is. It's almost check-out time." Lydia groaned and hid her head under the covers at Kaz's declaration. She had slept _too_ good…it had been a while since she got some decent shut-eye like that. A dreamless, safe night. "Don't make me drag you out." Kaz added.

"Ugh." Lydia sighed another time and brought the plethora of bedding down to her nose. "Do I really have to leave?"

"I mean, if you want to explain to Boss why we have two night's worth of hotel expenses."

"Nah, no thanks." Lydia back-tracked. She sat up; keeping the covers over her torso. "Can you hand me my clothes, please?"

"Of course. Although I would _much_ rather take them off." Lydia's face scrunched up. It was too early for his shenanigans. Kaz picked up her clothes that were on the floor and placed them on the bed within arm's reach.

"You wanna give me some privacy?"

"Sure." Kaz winked and turned around, his back facing her. Lydia sighed and slid her cotton shirt on first, then swung her legs over the side of the bed. She put on the pants, then her boots and stood up; stretching her arms out to her sides.

"Thanks." Lydia smiled and poked him in the middle of his back.

"I take it you slept good?" Kaz smiled. He grabbed his aviators from one of his pant pockets and rested them over his eyes.

"Well, if it's almost time for check-out, I would assume so." Lydia shrugged. "Being with you made it a lot better, to be honest."

"Oh?" Kaz raised an eyebrow.

"Don't take it the wrong way." Lydia waved her hand. "You know Kaz, I'm really grateful. Thank you for everything." Kaz smiled and extended his arms out. Lydia sized him up and blinked a couple timed. "What?"

"Bring it in?" Kaz wiggled his fingers toward his body. Lydia couldn't help but form a stupid smile on her face as she gave in to the request. Lydia took a few steps toward him and wrapped her arms around his back. Her cheek rested right on the base of his shoulder. His right hand cradled her head while his left wrapped around her back. He sure knew how to hug! "That's my girl." They stood there for a while in the embrace until a knock on the door interrupted them.

Lydia shook herself out of the daze and gently pushed herself away from him. "I think that's our cue." Lydia shrugged. "Let's go home, yeah?" Lydia turned away from him before he could respond. She felt cold the moment she turned toward the door.

"Yeah." Kaz's tone was distant and content. Lydia walked to the door and unlocked the chain link before opening it wide. Before her stood a few maids patiently waiting to clean the room. "Es todo tuyo." ("It's all yours.") Lydia held a thumbs up as she walked out of the room followed by Kaz. After they checked out, Kaz escorted Lydia back to the jeep which wasn't parked too far away. Luckily, there wasn't too much water inside the tarp-less vehicle.

The air was humid and clouds littered the sky. The breeze in from the ocean made it much cooler than what the past few days felt like. Lydia's eyes couldn't help but teeter to Kaz while he was concentrating on driving. She couldn't wrap it around her head. Did she really like him the way she had with Ocelot? _No_ …Lydia looked at her hands that were resting on her lap. It was more than that.

She wanted to feel his arms around her one more time. She wanted his hand on her knee the whole drive back to base. She wanted him to steal her gaze. She wanted him to roam his hands through her long blonde hair. She had fallen for him. She _had_ fallen for Kazuhira Miller. Him and his stellar blue eyes, his flirtatious personality, his styled blonde hair, his stupid grin, the list could go on and on. She couldn't get any of it out of her head. Not since Peru and even more so after the previous evening.

The moment Kaz parked the jeep, Lydia launched herself out. "Back on solid ground, thank _God_!" Kaz laughed in good humor, knowing she must have been joking. "Hey, thanks again Kaz." Lydia scratched the back of her head as Kaz stepped in front of her. "I appreciate all you've done for me. Not only for last night or-" Kaz held up his hand to cut her off.

"Don't worry 'bout it." He smiled, winking under his sunglasses. He shoved his hand into his pocket and just stared at her. Lydia shifted her eyes to anything but him and tucked in her lips.

"Okay…" She popped her lips back out and nodded. "I guess I'll see ya 'round!" Lydia turned on her right heel and walked off toward her bungalow. "Wow." She breathlessly whispered to herself once inside the privacy of her small living quarters. She instantly stripped off all her clothes and threw them into a hamper located in the south-east corner of her room. She walked into her tiny bathroom area and released a heavy sigh upon looking at herself in the small mirror.

 _I can't do this, I need to go on a mission or something._ The thought crossed Lydia's mind as she took out her hair from the pony-tail. _Ah, no I can't do that. Maybe you can ask Snake? Ah shit, I forgot we're on vacation._ She ran her fingers through her hair, the blonde strands fallen over her breasts. _Why are you wanting to escape?_ She asked herself. _Are you afraid of him?_ She leaned forward and peered at herself in the mirror, going through the mental interrogation. "Ugh." Lydia groaned, turning on the lukewarm water to the small shower. She stepped in the tiny rectangular enclosing and shut the white curtain, letting the cool water trail down her skin.

Lydia shut her eyes and sighed as the water flowed over her face. _What are you so afraid of?_ Lydia removed her head from the water and lathered her hair and body in soap before stepping out of the shower. Lydia walked out, the air giving her goosebumps all along her skin. Lydia dressed herself in a brown tank along with baggy, black, mid-calf shorts; more casual attire but still able to move about. Lydia opened the door to reveal the nervous Orca with a beret in hand.

"Yes, Orca?"

"Oh, Sub-C! Good to see you!" Blush rose to his cheeks. "I was wanting to know if you would like to be a part of our Secret Santa!"

"S-secret Santa?"

"Yeah! It's where you pick a name out of this hat." He fidgeted with the hat between his hands. "And you gift them a present without them knowing!"

"Hmmmm…." Lydia placed her right hand over her chin and tapped her lips with her index finger. She removed her hand a replaced it at her side. "Yeah, I don't see why not!" She said with a big smile.

"Oh! Great! You were the last one I had to ask so you'll be the first one to pick!" Orca grabbed a small piece of paper from his pocket and dropped it in the hat.

"Wait…did you get Snake in on this?"

"Boss? I couldn't get him to."

"Figures." Lydia giggled. "Alright, Orca. Let's hope I don't get the Commander." Lydia dipped her hand into the hat and fished a round the folded papers before pulling out one about a second or two later.

"Thanks Sub-C! I'm gonna go get the other guys." He nodded and waltzed off her doorstep. Lydia watched him walk away then unfolded the paper before her eyes. _RAVEN!_ She tightened her fist and shook it with victory as she walked back to her bed, leaving the door open. She placed the paper in her pillow case and walked out of her bungalow. It felt like she had inhaled a gallon of water at the amount of humidity. _It's a beautiful day out, I suppose I could take a stroll._ Lydia smiled, walking into the sand bare-foot.

The sand was coarse under her feet, but slightly damp from the night before. She walked out to the shore and began her journey along the shoreline. The water would gently rush on her feet before retracting back into the ocean. Lydia had walked far enough to barely see the camp. She turned her body to face the vast ocean. Everything was so beautiful and falling into place nicely.

Lydia shut her eyes the moment a soft breeze hit her skin. Water crawled back up to her ankles…in that moment she heard another disturbance in the water. The shuffling was behind her and moving toward her fast! Lydia opened her eyes and sucked in air and turned around, instantly in defense mode. Her vision caught onto a fist about to collide with her face. Lydia swiftly raised her right arm and guided the fist away from her face. It barely grazed her right cheek when her left fist collided with the perp's stomach.

He was wide open. After the left punch sent him stumbling back, Lydia discovered his face was covered in some balaclava. He was dressed in some combat fatigues…it was an MSF uniform. "Soldier, what do you think you're doing?!" Lydia scolded. The man, whom was lean in stature…about one-hundred sixty pounds maybe, stood up straight and readied himself for combat. She looked around his uniform for a name-tag…there was nothing there.

He didn't answer, he only flew a left straight. Lydia caught his left hand and kicked his knee, making him yelp and kneel before her. "You're sloppy!" She wrapped her right hand around the top of his balaclava, about to pull it off. The moment she started to drag it up over his face, another soldier jumped out of nowhere for a surprise attack!

To her left, the second man jumped into action with a punch toward her left body. Before he could connect, Lydia let go of the apprehended man and backed up. The second man tripped over the other, the both of them falling to the sand below. "You guys want to fight?" Lydia grinned. "Fight like I taught you, not like some idiots."

"Auuuuuuuugh." The first man groaned. "Get off of me, man!"

"Sorry!" The both of them stood up turning their attention back to Lydia. The both of them took basic CQC defensive stances.

"Better." Lydia cracked her neck. "When I win, you two better take off those balaclavas." The men grunted and charged for her at once. "Alright, take this!" Lydia stepped to her right and grabbed one man by the arm once lose enough. "Consecutive CQC!" She threw the man violently to the sand then instantly grabbed the other man who was still charging for her. She flipped him over her shoulder, slamming him on top of the man that was already on the ground. A loud grunt was heard from behind the mask. Lydia crossed her arms and placed her weight on her right hip.

"Alright guys give up, what's the big idea?"

"S-sorry ma'am. We thought we would get the element of surprise." The man on top stood up and helped his comrade. He took off his mask to reveal himself as Orca.

"Orca? Really? I literally just saw you...I thought you just went to go give out Secret Santa stuff?" Lydia raised her eyebrow at the other man who had taken off his balaclava. Komodo Dragon. "And Komodo Dragon? Your CQC is depressing, obviously a reflection of my training. That _or_ you haven't been paying attention. I'm highly disappointed."

They both saluted her, Orca looking like he was gonna cry! "Sorry ma'am!"

"Next time you want to battle me, fight me like men…not like a bunch of... _kids_. I'll teach you a lesson you won't forget. Now get out of here." Lydia dismissed them. They both turned around and sighed. Lydia rolled her eyes and sighed. "Jesus."

Lydia took a first step, back to her stroll. It only took three steps until her foot landed on something incredibly uncomfortable. "Ow…" She dully said aloud, her eyes looking to the sand below her. She lifter up her foot and saw a small, broken seashell. "A seashell? Sneaking up on me like that? You did more damage than the guys." She bent down and picked up the half that stabbed her in the foot. It was a dark brown shell, maybe belonging to some kind of crab before it was ditched in her walking path. _Oh…this gives me an idea!_

Lydia's mind drifted back to Raven's present. She looked around at the environment and pin-pointed more small seashells littered along the shoreline. Zig-zagging on the beach, she picked up about twenty various seashells, one by one carefully standing them in her hand. All of them were small but had various types of colors. _It's totally a girl thing to do, but Raven will appreciate this!_

Lydia took it upon her self after about an hour of collecting the perfect shells to return to her bungalow. She opened the door and waltzed in. She shut the door with her foot and laid the shells out on top of her bed. Her eyes glanced around the room until her sights landed on one of her brown shirts with clear stitching at the hems. "Aha!" Lydia picked up the shirt and walked over to her bed once more, sitting down away from the shells. She crossed her legs and made herself comfortable while messing with the stitching on the bottom of the shirt.

She must have been tinkering with it for nearly an hour; her fingers were getting sore from trying to get the stitching lose. At least it showed that Kaz didn't invest in crappy clothes for the staff…that's for sure. Before she was about to give up there was a loud couple of knocks on her door. "Lydia? You there?" Speak of the devil! Lydia's eyes narrowed as she returned her glance to the shirt's hem.

"Yeah, you can come in, Kaz." She returned. The door swung open, it wasn't long until eyes were planted on her.

"What are you doing there?" The door shut behind him, she could hear his footsteps get closer to the bed.

"I'm trying to get this piece of shit stitching out of this piece of shit shirt." Kaz laughed at her declaration. Kaz sat next to her and held out his hand.

"Hand it over." Lydia sighed in defeat and handed the shirt to Kaz. She watched him carefully as he took off his glasses with his free hand. He folded in one of the metal sides to reveal the break at the hinge. With the small edge of his glasses, he carefully hooked it onto one of the revealed stitches and broke the tension with ease. Lydia raised her eyebrows and looked at him with amazement. He returned his aviators onto the bridge of his nose and folded the shirt where he had broken the hemming. "Here." He handed it back to Lydia. "What's that look for?"

Lydia blinked a few times and carefully grabbed the shirt from his hand. Her eyes moved to the shirt and she started to unstitch the thread. "Didn't expect you to be so handy." Lydia admitted.

"In more ways than one." Kaz nudged her. "What are you making, anyway?"

"It's for Raven, I'm his Secret Santa."

"Raven, huh? I'm a little jealous." Kaz sighed.

"So, did you need something, Kaz?" Lydia brought the now long, exposed string to her mouth, braking it with her teeth.

"Oh yeah." Kaz nodded his head in realization. His right hand floated to one of his breast pockets and pulled out a small piece of paper. "Here." Lydia carefully placed the string by the shells and turned her attention to the photo that Kaz was handing her. Lydia took the photo and held it in front of her face. A smile worked its way on her lips at the sight of the black and white portrait of a small Asian woman. She had very soft features, nothing like Lydia had imagined she had looked like. In the photo, she was dressed in some type of kimono with her hair up in a bun. Around her hairstyle, she wore a beautiful pin of beads and flowers.

"Is this your mom?"

"Sure is." Lydia could hear a smile in his voice. "Takeda Kiyo. Takeda was our family surname and the name I carried before I adopted the name Miller. I think she was in her early twenties in that photo."

"Kiyo, huh? She's a beautiful woman."

"It's odd how I hadn't known my father and yet I look like him the most."

"Genetics is a crazy thing, Kaz." Lydia smiled and handed the picture back to him. "Thank you for introducing us." Kaz took the picture back and secured it into the breast-pocket it was in before.

"She would've liked you, that's for sure." Kaz smiled.

"If we ever met, I'm pretty sure I would enjoy her company. You described her as a pretty strong-willed woman. That's hard to imagine, considering how tiny she was."

"Yeah, she was a disciplinary one at that." Kaz chuckled at some memory that crept up in his mind. "Anyway…" Kaz cleared his throat. "I told ya I would be by to show you, I'll let you get back to your surprise." Kaz stood up from the bed once Lydia returned the string to her grasp.

"Thanks for stopping by." Lydia cracked a smile. "Don't be a stranger."

"Same goes for you." He opened the door and held a peace-sign before exiting and shutting the door behind him. Once he left, she let out the biggest sigh of her life.

 _My god, I thought I was going to vomit my heart out._ Lydia gulped and continued tinkering with the string. Lydia worked on the present for a few hours before it was completed. She kept changing her mind between a bracelet and a charm…finally deciding on a charm. She lined up the seashells on top of one another to make a dense, durable line that rested on top of a thick knot at the base of the charm. She fastened a loop at the top so Raven could attach it to whatever he deemed necessary. It wasn't a lot but it's the thought that counts!

* * *

 **December 25, 1973: 19:30**

It was a long day, that's for sure. Lydia had been cooped up in her room the majority of the day, thinking of an elaborate plan to go and give Raven the home-made charm. _Just fucking do it, Jesus you're not twelve._ Lydia sighed to herself and straightened her features before walking out of her bungalow. She could hear music in the distance toward the command shack. It wasn't loud but it traveled with the light breeze. Soft guitar strings playing an unfamiliar tune, something she hadn't heard live in a while except for on the radio. Lydia looked around to see if Raven was anywhere in sight…nope. _Hell, he better be here!_

Lydia walked to the command shack, the strumming getting louder. On the porch of the command center, Kazuhira sat on the small steps that led up to the room with a guitar resting over his lap and in his hands. His hands moved smoothly over the strings like is was second nature. "Kaz?" Lydia questioned, his eyes looking up at her from under his shades. He greeted her with a smile, not stopping the music.

"Lydia?"

"You got a _guitar_ for Christmas?"

"Yeah, I was having a conversation with Raven a few months ago on how I missed playing guitar and low and behold it shows up at my door this morning."

"You're pretty good, are there other talents you're hiding from me?" Lydia egged on.

"Maybe." Kaz winked, continuing the random tune. Lydia laughed.

"Hey, speaking of Raven…have you seen him around? I still haven't given him his gift yet."

"Oh yeah, I sent him off to take care of something for me. He should be back in a little bit. Why don't you sit down?" Kaz stopped playing and shifted over to open up a spot next to him on the steps.

"I think I just might. Thank you, kind sir."

"Ugh, you make me sound like an old man." Kaz rolled his eyes as Lydia sat.

"Not my intention." Lydia laughed at his wining tone. Kazuhira started playing again, this time playing something softer…romantic even? The silence between them was nice. She stared out at the ocean as the music flowed through her ears.

It had been on hell of a year…so much had happened. The drug cartel, Peru, and even the start of accepting her own past. There was so much to be thankful for. Boss, who gave her the opportunity, and Kaz, who had aided her in casting painful memories into the ocean. Her two closest comrades were what kept her going. Lydia soon found her eyes on Kaz's face. She always found it funny how he wore glasses at night-time…although having a legitimate reason. Her eyes fell to his lips, he was humming…slightly out of tune to what he was playing on the guitar. Her eyes roamed his body until they landed on his hands, strumming away at the guitar. He was handsome. Everything from the top of his blonde hair to the bottom of his feet. The way he smiled…that mischievous look he gets sometimes. Lydia's cheeks felt hot the more she thought about him, but she didn't mind. She wasn't going to hide from her feelings any longer.

It had taken her a long time to realize how much he meant to her…going on almost two years now. There would come a time when Lydia could tell him her feelings…but would he accept them? Lydia's gaze returned to the calm ocean that reflected the mood. Calm. Collected. _I shouldn't worry about that now, it's only a matter of time. I'll look him in the eye and just accept what happens._

In Lydia's peripherals, she saw Raven approaching from the left…where the rest of the cabins were. Was he over there this entire time? How did she not see him? Lydia stood up from her sitting position and walked down a few steps. "I'm back, Commander. Hello Sub-C, didn't expect you to be here." He saluted.

"At ease, I was actually looking for you. Miller said you would be back in a little bit."

"Yep. Mission accomplished, Commander."

"Thank you Raven, I appreciate your efforts." Lydia noted that Kaz had stopped playing his guitar.

"Raven, first of all…" She caught his attention, digging into her pant pocket. "Merry Christmas. Second of all…" She grabbed onto the charm and held it out for him to take. "I was your Secret Santa."

"What?" He smiled. "No way." Raven reached out his gloved hand and took the charm away from Lydia, holding it in front of his face. "Well would you look at that. Did you make this?"

"I sure did, it took hours, so you better carry it with you wherever you go." Lydia proudly crossed her arms.

"Will do, ma'am." He tightened his grip around it and placed it into one of his pant pockets. "I'll attach it to something, it'll be my good-luck charm." He held a thumbs-up. "Thank you Sub-C." Lydia nodded. "Anyway, you just reminded me that I have to give out my present." A look of realization struck his face. "I better get going!"

"What?!" Kazuhira sounded surprised. "You weren't _my_ Santa?"

"Nope, but I helped whoever was." Raven winked at him and jogged off. "Bye!"

"Damn, and here I thought he was it." Kaz sighed, walking up behind Lydia.

"Looks like you guessed wrong." Lydia laughed.

"Well it's getting kinda late, why don't you let me walk you back to your place?"

"It's not like it's next door to yours or anything." Lydia jokingly rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I suppose I could use the company." A smile followed the statement.

"Well, after you." Kaz placed his right hand on the small of her back to guide her forward. Lydia walked at her own pace with Kaz to her left. "You know…" He started, almost to her doorway. "I never did thank you."

"Thank me?" Lydia stopped below her patio. "For what?" She raised an eyebrow. Kaz took off his glasses and rested them on top of his head. His bright blue eyes met her green ones, sending her the softest reflection she had ever seen. Kaz reached forward and took a hold of her right hand, holding it tight with his.

"Saving my life. Giving me another chance to live."

"Kaz…what are you talking about?"

"In the jungle…October of '72. I was ready to die, but you stopped me from killing myself and you…not to mention Snake. Because of you…I'm here today." Lydia blushed, feeling awkward. Not knowing what to say. Should she say 'no problem'? 'You're welcome'? Those would just make her sound arrogant. "You're probably thinking to yourself…how do you respond to something like that?"

"You hit the nail right on the head." Lydia confessed.

"You don't." Kaz smiled softly. "You just stay where you are and let me thank you." Before Lydia could say anything, Kaz took a small step toward her and reached up his left hand, resting his palm below her right earlobe. "And now I have an excuse to do what I want." He tilted his head and leaned down, closing the gap between them. It didn't take long for his lips to reach her's. In that moment, it felt like C4 had detonated on her heart, creating a domino effect of explosions all through her body. Lydia started to move on her own, her lips in sweet rhythm with Kaz's, like they _both_ had been longing for this moment. Her hands snaked behind him and wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer. Kaz's right hand rested on the small of her back, pulling closer to him, deepening the kiss.

The explosions didn't stop there, about every major organ within her body erupted with joy and simmered down as the kiss lingered, providing the cooling substance needed to calm her down. Kaz parted away from her, leaving her lips lonely and wanting more. Lydia opened her eyes, still drunk off the kiss to meet the blue eyes of the smiling Kazuhira. "Wasn't expecting you to kiss me back, but I'll take it." He winked as he unhanded her. Lydia followed suit and returned her arms to her sides, resting her right hand on her hip. "I should do that more often…especially with that thing above your head." Kaz reached for his glasses and placed them over his eyes before starting to walk away.

"Thing above my head?" Lydia raised an eyebrow, looking at his back the farther he got. She craned her neck up to see a small plant hanging above her doorway. Mistletoe. "Tch." Lydia couldn't help but chuckle to herself when returning her eyes to Kaz walking toward his bungalow. "An excuse to do what you want, huh?" Lydia reached her arm up and took down the holiday decoration, holding it in her hands. On it was a tag that read: 'From your Secret Santa'. Lydia shook her head side to side. "Unbelievable." She walked into her small shack and shut the door behind her. "Don't you worry, Kaz. Two can play this game."

* * *

 ***Shoots off confetti gun***


	31. Chapter 31

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise**

 **Author's note: Important Update, new upload dates have been moved to Fridays! So alas, you get two chapters in one week so I stay on schedule :) And today is a two chapter day (partially because I want to be done with the pre-Peace Walker grind lol)! Thank you to those who subscribed (and or stopped by to take a peek)! I appreciate all the support :D There is some very dark back-story on a certain character we all hold dear to our hearts in this chapter. So be warned!**

 **In the flashback please note that the individuals involved are speaking Spanish.**

 **Guest K:** And the dark and ugly staaaaaaaaarts NOW.

 **This chapter may include triggers for some readers, please read at your own risk.**

 **MATURE CONTENT WARNING : STRONG Violence and Assault. STRONG Sexual Content.**

* * *

 **"I have a feeling, it's a feeling I'm concealing - I don't know why.**

 **It's just a mental, incidental, sentimental alibi.**

 **But I adore you, so strong for you.**

 **Why go stalling? I am fallen; love is calling; why be shy?"**

 **-Frank Sinatra**

* * *

 **December 31, 1973: 23:40**

 **Raven's POV**

All of MSF was crowded around one metal barrel filled with fire-wood on the beach, waiting for the New Year to approach. Alcohol, snacks, and other beverages littered their surroundings. "Hey everyone!" Raven, who was about four beers into the evening called out. "I have an idea!"

"Of course you have an idea, you're drunk!" Viper hooted.

"Hey, so are you!" Raven retorted. "But seriously tho, I have an idea. Now that we're all together!"

"Alright, Raven, what have you got?" Snake, the most composed of all the gentleman sounded off.

"Thanks Boss. We should go around and say what our most favorite thing was this year."

"That's like…three-hundred sixty-five days of memories! How do we pick one?" Orca slurred.

"I'm surprised you remember how many days there are in a year!" Komodo Dragon punched Orca in the arm.

"Alright, alright. Does anyone want to volunteer first?" Raven asked, opening up to the table.

Orca stood up from his sitting position. "I saw our Sub-C with a braid in her beautiful hair."

"Orca, come on man. That can't be your favorite thing this year!" Viper shouted.

"Well drunk words are sober thoughts, so they say." Raven laughed alongside everyone else. He glanced around…speaking of Sub-C…she wasn't around. He remembered telling everyone to meet up, did she not want to come? Then he noticed there was another missing, Miller. _Oh…they must be together, no doubt._ "Well you're lucky she's not here to hear that otherwise you'd get a big smack to your head."

"Anything from the Sub-C! She can hit me all she wants!" Raven could almost see hearts in Orca's eyes as he thought of Matthews.

"Alright, keep it in your pants, Orca." Viper rolled his eyes. "The best thing that happened this year, man I went on a lot of missions but there was this one…Komodo Dragon you remember this shit!"

"Are you talking about the mission I think you're talking about?" He slurred out, almost incomprehensible.

"Yeah! Komodo Dragon and I were out on a mission in May for intel on some warlord. We stole two of these random uniforms off these two guys and the warlord mistook us as his lovers! We just shut him up and arrested him after he made a move on Komodo."

"OH IT WAS SO AWKWARD. HE GRABBED MY NUTS." The lot of the crew laughed. From behind Raven, one of MSF's jeep pulled up and parked in its usual spot. Matthews and Miller hopped out of the vehicle with more drinks in hand.

"Sorry guys, we went to grab some more drinks!" She held up a few packs of Guinness.

"YES SUB-C, YES!" Some of the guys called. The Sub-C looked happy, especially next to Miller, who was holding some of the same type of beer. She looked beautiful on this clear night, the light from the fire was reflecting off of her best features. The moment Raven felt his eyes wondering he blushed and violently shook his head to keep his composure.

"What are we all doing?" Miller questioned, taking a seat on the sand after placing the beer in the middle of the group.

"We're saying what our favorite moment this year was."

"Wow, a lot has happened this year." Matthews took a seat next to the Commander. She opened up a Guinness and took a sip.

"Yeah that's what I said." Orca puffed out his chest.

"Yeah and you said more than that, too!" Viper grabbed another beer for himself while the group of men cackled.

"Awh what did I miss?!" Matthews interrogated, looking around the circle of men.

"Just a confession of sorts and some guy fondling my balls." Komodo Dragon shrugged.

"MY favorite moment of this year was the drug cartel mission. Man, I earned us a lot of brownie points."

"You sure did!" Orca flaunted. Raven kept his eyes on Miller whom had leaned over and whispered something into Matthews' ear, which made her cheeks turn red with embarrassment. Raven's eyes turned to Snake, who seemed to notice the exchange too. Ever since Miller had approached Raven in helping him 'seal the deal', as he put it, they had become closer. Miller had been almost everywhere Matthews had been, but it seems like no one had noticed…except for himself and Snake it seemed.

* * *

 ** _April 4, 1966_**

 _Roberto Garcia had just made his way out a long and grueling day. He had been attending the National University of Córdoba in the School of Medicine. The university itself was very old, but it carried a successful name, especially when nursing was involved. Or so Roberto thought. Another semester was over and he was only one full year away from graduation. It was time for him to finally pack up what little he had in his dorm and return home to his sweet Sofia._

 _Two days had passed until he made it back to his small home in the a small town on the outskirts of Palmira, Colombia. Being dropped off by the taxi, his stomach began to tie in knots. He was too giddy to see Sofia again, it had been months since they've last seen one another. Only another year and they would finally be married and starting a happy life together. Upon stepping out of the cab and grabbing his things, he couldn't help but something was amiss._

 _His head turned left and right to examine his surroundings…there was no one about. Roberto shrugged to himself and carried on to his door. This time something was off. He let go of his bags and eyed the door handle; it had been broken. His heart began to beat faster. Had someone broken in? Was Sofia safe? He gently pushed open the door, within he was armed with some type of weapon._

 _The first sight was the living room looked as though if it had been torn apart. "Move over!" He heard a foreign voice of a male demand deeper within the home. There was muffled a muffled voice and creaking coming from beyond as well. Roberto could only imagine the worst. Sofia! He quietly walked to the kitchen and retrieved the sharpest knife he had. Upon walking back to the living room, in the hallway emerged a rather muscular man whom was in the middle of buttoning his pants._

 _"Hey! Who are you?!" Roberto held out the knife with shaky hands, only to receive a laugh in return. "Very funny." Another man, fully clothed, walked out of the room with a gun in hand. A bullet ripped through the chamber and penetrated his right knee-cap, causing him to yelp in pain and crash to the ground. "Awh is this the boyfriend?!" Roberto lifted his head as much as he could. They were wearing Colombian army clothing…no…it was different. Were they the rebels Sofia had been telling him about? Or was it some gang?_

 _"Sofia!" He called out as loud as he could. He needed to hear something, just to know that she was ok._

 _"Shut up!" The first man that walked out of the room demanded._

 _"This must be the boyfriend. Come on, bring him in." The other one ordered._

 _"With pleasure." The bulky man wrapped his fingers in Roberto's hair, dragging him down the hallway. It felt like he was going to rip his hair right out of his head. The creaking only got louder the closer they were to the room. Roberto was thrown on the opposite side of the room, farthest away from their bed. His eyes caught a quick glance as to what was happening. The first thing his eyes laid on was Sofia's beautiful brown hair and tan skin littered with blood. The only thing washing it off of her were the tears streaming from her eyes._

 _"No!" Roberto yelled, instantly getting smacked across the cheek. It felt like he had been hit with a mace or some type of other bludgeon; his vision had gone blurry. He was being held back, there was nothing he could do. He was forced to watch while the love of his life was being drained of everything she had by the men in the room. Her innocence was gone, he saw it in that first glance of her eyes…her love was diminishing as well. The man holding back Roberto held is head in position to watch, but his eyes were not on her. He dare not see Sofia be tortured, as this was torture to himself as well._

 _"No Roberto don't watch." She was able to get out before he hear a smack. He obeyed her and did not take another look. It seemed like hours before the torment was over. The man who had shot him in the knee-cap found his way across the room with the pistol in hand._

 _"Marco, hold his head in place and makes sure he watches this. He's not gonna want to miss it for the world." Roberto's head was forcefully held in position as the man with the gun walked to the bedside, readying the pistol._

 _"Sofia, no!" He tried to break free but was only slammed to the ground by the man apprehending him._

 _"Just do it, he knows what's coming." Not a moment later, there was a loud bang that radiated around the room. Darkness had taken over. The moment he awoke, he was dizzy. He had lost a lot of blood but was in a hospital room. He heard the heart-rate monitor increase as he looked around at his surroundings. "H-h-hey!" He shouted. A few nurses and officers ran in the moment he spoke._

 _"Roberto! You're going to be alright!" One of the nurses spoke. One of the law enforcers must have gotten a hold of his passport for his identity._

 _"Sofia?! Where is she?!"_

 _"I'm so sorry." One of the officers spoke. "She was murdered after everything had happened."_

* * *

It's difficult to find love on the battlefield. Taking a look back at his life, Raven couldn't help but remember his girlfriend, Sofia, being captured and tortured by Colombian rebels right before his eyes. He was twenty-four, almost done with his medical schooling. If someone _was_ capable of having love bloom, there's no doubt that flower would wither. It would die, just as Sofia did.

Matthews reminded him a lot of her: strong, well-spoken, a leader. Sofia was everything he had wished for, but the torment of her losses on that day, well…even if she lived through it, it was too much for such a sweet person. Finishing medical school was the number one thing he vowed to do and enlist in the Colombian army as an officer, to find those bastards who mutilated his love and bring them justice. He couldn't save her, but he could save others that would eventually go through a dark fate. There's too much weakness with love, it seemed like Matthews knew as much already from her behavior…but Miller? That was a different story. Raven saw himself in the way Miller looked at Matthews, naïve. Miller was only signing up to lose something precious.

As the night went on, good memories were shared until it was a few seconds till midnight. Snake led the countdown until the unanimous shout that a new year had risen and kissed the other one farewell. "Now who wants to stay up and watch the first sunrise?!"

"No thank you." Snake mumbled.

"Why not, Boss?!"

"You lot have fun, I'm going to bed." As the group bid their leader farewell, Matthews stood up from her spot and stretched her arms up to the night sky…thankfully not drinking a lot.

"I'm going to head that way, too." Lydia waved to the men. "Happy New year, let's make MSF strong this year!" The lot cheered and hollered as she walked away. To Raven's surprise, Miller stood-by, still sitting in his spot. He was dazed, watching her walk away under those dark glasses.

"Raven, buddy?! Why the long face?!" Viper jumped up, wrapping hi right arm around Raven's shoulders. "Come on, have another drink, the night is young! We still have the first sunrise!" His dark eyes travelled to the Guinness that was handed to him, which he happily took from his friend.

"You know what, amigo? You are right. Let's reminisce!" He took a big gulp of the dark beverage, nearly coughing it up. Damn, what a great beer! His eyes found their way back to Miller, whom had finally decided to stand up.

"Well it's now or never, boys." Miller saluted to the lot.

"Now or never?" Mosquito questioned, but didn't get an answer. Miller dodged the question and jogged off after Matthews, earning the stares and a few glares from the twenty men.

"That mother fuck-" Komodo Dragon covered Orca's mouth before he could finish the statement. Whatever Miller was about to do, Raven could only hope that he has no regrets.

* * *

 **Lydia's POV**

 **January 1, 1974: 00:10**

Lydia made it into her bungalow shortly after leaving the group of drunken men. They all looked so happy and carefree…but Kaz was right about something.

 _"I know that wasn't your favorite thing this year."_

Since that kiss, Kaz had snuck in a few more here and there, each one getting more passionate. She wanted to melt every time he would pull her aside and kiss her out of sight. He was the embodiment of temptation, a temptation that grew every time her green eyes met his blues. Lydia waltzed to her bed and sat on the edge of the mattress, feeling her stomach start to twist into knots. A few knocks on the door interrupted her thoughts as her head snapped up toward it's direction. "Yes?" She hollered out, standing up. She began to walk to the door until it opened on it's own.

The moonlight from her door and window revealed Kaz standing in the doorway. "Lydia." He simply said her name…he sounded different. Like something was possessing him.

"Kaz? Can I help you?" Lydia's eyes followed Kaz's motions. He fully emerged himself into the room and shut the door behind him.

"Matter of fact, I think you can." Kaz took off his glasses and closed the distance between them with a few strides of his long legs. To Lydia's surprise, he had whisked her into a kiss. It was soft, as if testing the waters. Lydia shut her eyes the moment his lips began to move against hers. The kiss stayed soft and light as his hands found their way to her hips. His fingers resting along the hem of her pants, sneaking their way under her shirt to get in contact with her bare skin. She felt no need to grab his arms for him to stop as he glided his strong hands up her back. His lips moved away from her's and trailed kisses down her jaw-line and onto the right side of her neck. His hands found their way to her bra strap, causing him to form a toothy grin agains her skin. "May I?" Lydia's heart was nearly beating out of her chest as Kaz continued to lather her neck with ghostly kisses.

Lydia's breathing became heavy as the atmosphere became dense with arousal. "Mm-hmm." She shakily hummed out, giving him permission to unhook her bra. Not a moment later, she felt it unbuckle, followed by Kaz's hands trailing up her back, following the straps that held it up. Slowly, he slid the straps around her shoulders down her arms and let her black bra fall to the floor. He lifted his head from the crevice of her neck and returned his attention to Lydia's lips. His left hand slithered its way to her mid back, pulling her toward him so she was flush against his body. With the little space between them, Kaz used his right hand to sneak under her shirt and travel up her abdomen, taking its time to feel all the muscled he hadn't had the pleasure of touching before.  
At the uncharted territory, Kaz smiled against her lips the moment his right hand formed over her left breast. She didn't have the largest of breasts, but it was a nice hand-full for Kaz to take advantage of. He took her erect nipple between his index and middle finger, massaging it before moving to the entire breast. It was in that moment that Lydia's left leg gave out from beneath her, causing her to nearly fall over. Kaz broke away from her lips and quickly repositioned his arms to catch her from toppling down. "Heh, am I making you weak in the knees?"

"N-n-nope. Not that." Lydia blushed. "J-just my left leg is all."

"Well, I'm going to _pretend_ that I made you weak in the knees." Kaz winked at her. He rested his left hand along her back while he scooped her up under the knees with his right arm.

"Wah!" Not expecting him to carry her at all, Kaz gently dropped her onto the full-sized bed. Kaz sat at her side with a dazed look in his blue eyes. "Kaz, what's up?"

"Nothing, I just remembered something about you that's relevant to this moment." Kaz winked. "Lydia…" Kaz leaned over her body, planting his arms on either side of her. "Do you want this as much as I do?"

"Kaz…" Lydia diverted her gaze. "You just…you just have to be gentle…ok?"

"Gentle is my middle name." Kaz gloated, grinned and swooped his head down to capture her lips another time before quickly parting. "And you didn't answer my question. I want to hear you say it."

"Kaz…this is embarrassing." Lydia's face was hot. "Yes, please?"

"That's my girl. Here, sit up." Lydia propped herself up on her forearms as Kaz moved away from her. Kaz's hands grabbed a hold of her shirt, slowly bringing it up. "Don't be shy, now. And don't worry about your scars, I don't mind." It's like she was shot through the heart with a compact arrow the moment those words fell from his mouth. She held out her arms, helping Kaz remove her shirt. "Heh, just as I thought." He smiled to himself, sizing up her torso once her shirt was completely off. "Beautiful." It was odd watching him size up her bare torso. His arms returned to both of her sides, signaling her to lie on her back. Upon doing so, Kaz took off his own shirt, revealing his impressive muscles. She knew that he had been muscular, but looking at his lean figure up close, she could nearly feel a nose-bleed coming on. The next thing to go was his pants, he swiftly kicked those off just as fast as his shirt before returning to his position on top of her.

Holding himself up with his left arm he moved his right hand to the hem of her pants. With one hand, he unbuttoned and unzipped her pants…a very impressive notion. Kaz's lips found their way to Lydia's another time as he trailed his right hand down to her panty line. He had no problem sneaking his hand into the barricade instantly feeling the shaved skin, which caused him to smile under his kiss. She had no idea _what_ he was doing, but whatever it was, it felt amazing. Her clitoris was being massaged in a gentle, circular motion. He occasionally changed directions and patterns based on it's involuntary contraction. Kaz parted from her lips once Lydia's breath began to hitch. He left a trail of kisses down her neck and arrived at her breast. His tongue massaged her right nipple first, followed by him massaging it with his lips and teeth.

Lydia's core was extremely aroused, wet from his intimate maneuvers. Lydia started to breath faster, which was Kaz's queue to move on to a different action. He removed his hand from her clitoris and propped himself up with both hands, moving his head to look her in the eyes. "Lydia, you are extremely wet…and I can't deny that I am _extremely_ turned on myself. But I do need your help with something." Kaz spoke seductively, lowering his lips down to her ear. "I need you to take off your pants and panties for me. After that…" He lightly bit down on her ear-lobe. "Well, you _know_ what comes after that."

"Do I?" Lydia was dumbfounded, still feeling a high from the foreplay. Pure ecstasy flooded her entire body as Kaz took it upon himself to help her remove the rest of her undergarments. Star-struck, she had been taking too long. "S-sorry." Lydia vocalized as her clothes were on their way past her knees.

"Hey, I get it. You're nervous." He removed the rest of the clothing and dropped them on the floor. "And just to let you know…" He slid his own underwear down past his hips, causing Lydia to look in some other direction out of pure embarrassment. His hands returned next to her torso as he positioned himself between her legs. "It might hurt for you…" Lydia felt the poking of the tip of his cock at her entry. "Heh, you're so cute. You should see how red you are." His right hand brushed some of her bangs out of her face.

"Alright Kaz, that's enough." Lydia rolled her eyes, not wanting to look at him.

"Hey, hey, hey." Kaz swiftly captured her lips with his own. Once parted, her eyes found his brights. " _That's_ enough of _that_." He finished his statement with a smug grin and continued on his escapade. Kaz was right, it was painful at first. But the more he worked his way in, it wasn't as bad as he made it out to be. It didn't take long for the trip to turn into pleasure the more he swayed in and out. All the sexual tension built up inside the both of them came undone by the conclusion of the evening.

It was all too much for Lydia to keep up with, she couldn't focus on one thing more than the other. All that she could see was Kaz on top of her gifting her one of the best feelings in her personal life. Any details regarding the session were lost in the mere intimacy of the moment; it's as if neither of them minded the simplicity of the unfolding events. Kaz made it just as special and memorable as Lydia had imagined. Kaz had pulled out of her before climax, spilling his semen over her abdomen. Slimy. Gross. But it was all worth it.

Kaz removed himself from on top of her, but she was too star-struck to look at him head-on. She earned a laugh from him a few moments later. "You ok there?"

"What?" Lydia looked around and spotted that he had made a trip to the restroom, carrying a small towel in his hand

"Just seeing if I killed you or not." Kaz winked, crawling up on the bed next to her. He brought the damp towel to her exposed stomach and cleaned off the present he had left for her.

"Uhhh, thank you?"

"You're welcome?" He questioned back with a hint of laughter. "And I should be thanking you." He tossed the towel on the floor. "This marks the start of a fantastic year."

"Heh, I can't deny that." Lydia smiled and sat up to drag her covers over both of their bodies. "Umm, thank you Kaz. That was…" His eyes looked like they were going to pop out of his head in anticipation for the next words to exit her mouth. "…an _experience_."

"What…like a good experience? I hope so."

"Yeah, yeah. I would invite you back." Lydia winked.

"Me and you both." Kaz winked. "I mean, I could make a great teacher for you."

"…" Lydia sighed and shifted onto her back. "I'm sure you would be." Although she wanted to stay up, Lydia's eyes became heavy from the lack of sleep. It must have been almost 02:00! She dare not look at the time and closed her eyes in protest. She and Kaz laid there silently against one another. His warm body making up for some of the blanket that was commandeered by him. Before she knew it, unconsciousness had taken ahold of her and sent her off into a deep slumber.


	32. Chapter 32

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise!**

 **Author's note: Update 2/2 for the day! And then yahoo! We're on to Peace Walker! Huzzah! Thank you to everyone who subscribed to the story! Enjoy! :3**

* * *

 **"Oh, can't you see the morning after?**

 **It's waiting right outside the storm.**

 **Why don't we cross the bridge together**

 **And find a place that's safe and warm?"**

 **-Maureen McGovern**

* * *

 **January 1, 1974 07:00**

Lydia had awoken to an empty bed and a loud knock on her door. Squinting her eyes at the sight of the sun creeping its way through her shaded window, Lydia didn't feel like moving…let alone speaking. The first thought besides the obnoxious knocking that came to mind was where Kazuhira had managed to run off to sometime during the early morning. Another knock cut off her concentration. "Alright, will you cut it out already?!" Lydia hollered, rubbing her eyes and sitting up from her messy bed. She swung her legs over the side, sensing a small uncomfortable dullness between her thighs. _Oh…that's new._ She reached over to the clothes she had worn the day prior and slipped them over her sore body.

 _I didn't realize sex would take so much out of you._ Lydia brushed her hair out of her face and slowly stood up once fully dressed. Barefoot, she sluggishly approached the door and opened it to reveal a very content-looking Orca. "Orca…to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"The Commander sent me to find you and tell you to come to the command room…by orders of The Boss!"

"Yep, new year…new assignments. Shoulda known. Thank you Orca, I'll be over there in a few." Lydia left her door open and moved to her combat boots. Upon, rather uncomfortably kneeling down, she noticed Orca starting to walk away. "Oh…Orca!" She heard him stop in his tracks while she was focused on putting on her boots.

"Yes ma'am?"

"Don't _you_ forget that _I_ haven't forgotten about your little surprise attack on me the other day. You and Komodo Dragon are still in for a world of hurt."

"Yes ma'am." She heard him loudly sigh with disappointment as he stepped away from her quarters. Lydia wasn't too far behind him as she made her way to Snake's location. With a deep breath, she pushed open the door to the command room. Snake was sitting at the lone table in the middle of the room staring at at few documents. Kaz was stationed behind him. He looked like he was briefing some kind of message before Lydia had interrupted them.

"Am I late or something?" Lydia shut the door behind her.

"We were actually just getting started. Take a seat." Kaz winked to her and motioned to a chair at the opposite side of the table.

"Kaz made a budget plan for this year…apparently he's in the market to purchase a helicopter." Snake relaxed his back and pulled a cigar out of one of his many pockets. Upon lighting it, the realization finally struck Lydia.

"A helicopter? Kaz…do we even have that much money? You already bought two jeeps and another cargo truck this past year." She crossed her arms, the smell of heavy smoke filling her nostrils.

"Yes, and by the end of the year we should have enough money for one _and_ to recruit a pilot."

"Ahhhh, recruiting." Snake blew out a puff of smoke, the cigar still sitting stationary in his mouth. "I think it's about time we've expanded. We've kept the same twenty men for the past two years." More men? Lydia's brows furrowed at the thought. Not that she wasn't against expanding MSF, but it would just cost too much.

"Snake…we simply don't have the resources to do so."

"Snake, Lydia is right." She looked up at Kaz who nodded his head at her eye contact. "More recruits means more money involved. Think of the costs to gather materials to build more cabins and obtain more food. We would have to be taking an _exceptional_ amount of jobs."

"Then lets take an exceptional amount of jobs." Snake challenged. "Kaz, you have your resources and connections. You can get us jobs back to back if you wanted to." Snake did have a point. Now that their PF was getting more recognized, there's no doubt that Kaz could conjure up a deal.

"I hate to agree with Snake on this, Kaz…but he's right. You can pull some strings."

"You doubt my capabilities…I can do more than pull strings. If you want more jobs Boss…I can get them." Lydia eyed the papers that were in the middle of the table. It was a stack about thirty papers or so that Snake was rummaging through when she had walked in.

"And what are these?" Lydia questioned, taking a hold of the papers. On them, it looked like mission briefing files.

"Exactly what it looks like." Kaz spoke, walking to the other side of the table. "These are the mission requests that came to us while we were taking our vacation."

"A lot of opportunities." Lydia added, shuffling through the papers. "You get a hold of them to see if they still ned help?"

"This morning." Kaz said matter-of-factly. "All of them are still looking for MSF's help. The majority of them are pretty minor. Intelligence gathering for the most part. Salvation missions and a few big ones that I want you or The Boss to handle." Lydia nodded her head in agreement as she placed the plethora of mission down on the table. "So all we need to do now is assemble the right people and assign them to the appropriate mission."

"Sounds good to me." Lydia agreed.

"One more thing." Kaz interjected. "A business partner of mine made me aware of some mysterious force that invaded Costa Rica recently. I know the both of you were just there last year. Snake you were actually looking into this, but it looks like whoever it is, is mobilizing more troops. Lydia, and it looks like drug production is back on the rise."

"Great." Lydia and Snake spoke simultaneously in the same sarcastic manner.

"I'm getting reports of it being CODESA…but something tells me it's not that. But for now, that's all I know what's happening. I'll keep an eye on Costa Rica while you two take care of the other jobs."

"If anything comes of it, be sure to let us know." Snake ordered. "From the sounds of it and what I saw, it may look like this 'CODESA' is up to something. If it is even their organization to begin with."

"Snake with the conspiracy theories, eh?" Lydia spoke in good humor. "But in all seriousness, Kaz, I agree. CODESA's arrival in Costa Rica was unexpected, we don't want anything to...you know…blow up because of this. That _and_ the KGB is over there too…who knows if they have an alliance or something."

"I doubt it. The KGB always has their own agenda." Snake spoke. "But, since they are involved in the drug industry in Costa Rica…I would keep an eye on them too, just in case."

"Yes, Boss." Kaz nodded.

"I have something to bring up." Lydia cleared her throat. "I speak for everyone when I said this and we did really enjoy the generous break you gave us. On the other hand, I think some of the men took it for granted. Their CQC and training has become sloppy. Two of the men attempted to jump me a few days ago and were just… _awful_. Instead of taking one long break at the end of the year…how about splitting it up?"

"Hmmm…go on?" Snake pushed.

"I mean, what if we take one day out of every month to celebrate birthdays or something?"

"That sounds like a great idea!" Kaz smiled.

"Think about future recruits too, wouldn't that help build morale? They get one day off a month to celebrate. It'll be a reward to the guys."

"Hmph, I don't object to this. Starting in February…how about the third Friday of the month?" Lydia nodded in agreement.

"Sounds good. That way, we won't be so set back on our missions. Not to mention, it will boost our reliability to our clients."

"When you put it that way, I think she has an excellent point. Good decision, Boss." Kaz agreed.

"Hnngh, well I suppose we better start getting busy. Kaz, I'll look into assigning the men out on those missions. Lydia, you go out and round up them men. Kaz has a few words to say to them."

"Still not one for speeches, huh Snake?" Lydia laughed. "Yessir." Lydia nodded and stood up from her chair. She looked to Kaz and nodded before turning around to walk out of the room. To her surprise, she didn't have to travel far to gather the lot of MSF. They were conveniently standing outside waiting for The Boss' arrival! "Well I'll be damned." Lydia laughed. "You just made my life that much easier." She mentally counted everyone to make sure all twenty men were present. "The Boss and Commander will be out in a minute. He said he has some words for you all."

"Yes ma'am!" They all saluted.

Snake walked out of the bungalow and was greeted by the highest respect from MSF. Each of them stood erect and in proper formation, saluting him upon his arrival. Snake waved his right hand up for them to knock it out. Kaz followed Snake out of the bungalow and stood in the center between Snake and Lydia.

"Men, it's a brand new year. A new year brings new events, new allies, and most important of all…new opportunities. Each and every one of you have grown as men ever since you've decided to join MSF and make it into the PF it is today. We continue to flourish as an army without borders and maintain to stand behind our beliefs and not be tied down by some country. With our confidence growing, it is time to make a stand and be the best PF in the world. We do not want the rest of the world to second-guess our abilities. Look at the men around you. Each one of you serve The Boss and most importantly…you all serve yourselves. You are what keep MSF on its feet. You threw away your past lives to be a part of something greater; and for that, we are grateful and owe you with as much respect as you give toward us.

"The Boss, the SubCommander and I are thankful for all your contributions and wish to reward every one of you. The third Friday of every month, starting in February, we will dedicate to celebrating the birthdays of any current or incoming MSF soldiers that fall within that month. With this announcement, our expectations from you have only grown higher. To achieve this, we want you to hold tight onto your goals and future accomplishments. They do not go unnoticed. Come back from every mission proud and ready to be deployed on another. There's a reason why all of you are here standing in front of us today. That reason is because we all share the same dream. Let's continue to keep MSF alive and have an excellent and eventful year ahead."

The men were awestruck at Miller's speech. Some of them looked like they were going to cry and others looked at him like they wanted to run over and hug him. Lydia's eyes turned to Raven, whom was the first to salute the three leaders. Like a pile of dominos, the other men followed suit. Lydia found it in herself to salute the soldiers in return. Taking her right hand away from her temple, she returned it to her side. Faintly, she felt Kaz's fingers brush up against her left hand. _Of course._ It may have looked like an accident but it was on purpose. _Yep, this is going to be an interesting year. I could already tell._

The first few months of the year were extremely busy. Everyone got their own taste of every type of mission. More GMP (Gross Military Product) was invested into the housing of MSF. Snake had decided to hand-pick all troops that wanted in MSF. By May 1974, MSF had grown to thirty soldiers. Business was booming, especially from Costa Rica. There was an election taking place, the eventual winner, Daniel Oduber Quirós hired three MSF soldiers on contract through May 7-9. The day after he was sworn into government, he payed MSF a hefty amount of money for their presence.

President Quirós was sworn into office at an awful time in Costa Rican history. His main concern for office was social and class issues. One of his goals was to raise the quality of life in rural areas. He was big on the environment, which most companies were not a fan of. Especially those of the deforestation kind. Drugs and crime were still on a significant rise while…' _CODESA'_ …was mysteriously becoming more involved as time flew by.

Nuclear weapons and testing was becoming more of a concern now more than ever. India had joined in the nuclear family and became the sixth nuclear power in the world. On July 3, 1974, the Threshold Test Ban Treaty (TTBT) was signed by the United States and Soviet Union. It was a step in the right direction, but it did not stop the production of the creation of new nuclear weapons from either country. The prohibition towards testing the nuclear devices exceeding 150 kilotons. Although, if there were weapons tested at that capacity once or twice a year, there would be no problem between the countries. So they could go on _peacefully_ testing their nuclear weapons. With all the faultiness of the treaty, there was no doubt it would take a few years for the treaty to be one-hundred percent implemented into both governments.

On August 9, 1974, President Richard Nixon in the United States resigned from his governmental position of power and passed the torch to President Gerald Ford. This was brought on by a scandal known as Watergate. With the reveal of a tape recording back in June of 1972, Nixon and his Chief of Staff were discussing a way to block the FBI from issuing an inquiry about the scandal by using the CIA to their favor. This outing caused him to resign…to which he was pardoned by President Ford later in October to any crime he may had committed during the time of his presidency.

There had been a lot of stressful and sleepless nights since the beginning of the year from the entire team. Hurricanes, earthquakes, and other natural disasters made their way to the the table. Reconstruction and salvation missions had been on the rise for MSF next to security and intelligence gathering. They were able to purchase a helicopter by October and recruit a pilot who refers to himself as Morpho. Although it was rather expensive, the flights saved a ton of GMP on travel expenses. When Kaz mentioned that it was going to be a busy year, he certainly wasn't lying.

Between missions and training, Kaz had made time to spend as much time as he could with Lydia. He would pull subtleties around her to grab her attention; and sneak into her bungalow on some nights. Their 'sessions' were becoming more passionate and more creative the more time they spent with one another. Their relationship was growing and Lydia couldn't help but feel more connected to him as the months passed. She could not have the courage to tell him what she had wanted. She had deeply fallen for the man. Lydia could tell he had some type of feeling for her too, otherwise he wouldn't be going out of his way to compliment her or visit her in the evenings. Maybe it was something that _didn't_ need to be said.

As for Snake, he had taken it upon himself to be deployed on as many missions as possible. Maybe he had something on his mind? Maybe he was bored? Over the past few months, Lydia had seen more determination in him to work solo for long periods of time. That was Snake alright. Since the day she met him he always preferred working alone. Being paired with him for so long as a partner, it always seemed like they were together. Every time he went out on his own, he made a statement. It was a declaration of power from MSF. Their army had grown in morale and strength every time he would return…most men called him a unicorn because it was rare to see him walking about. But when he did come back, he was greeted with the upmost respect…as any great man would.

It wasn't until early November when Snake would finally return back to their camp after a long solo mission out in Cuba.

* * *

 **November 4, 1974: 14:00**

The sky was dark and brooding. The wind blew gently as a storm was brewing over the sea on the horizon. The waves were angrily trying to eat one another as the storm grew closer to it's land-fall destination. Dressed in brown cargo pants and a black long-sleeve shirt, Lydia stood before her comrades all exhausted from training. Their moods reflected off the depressing weather. "Men, what the hell is wrong with all of you? Now's no time to be moping on the ground!"

"But ma'am! It's too nice out here! Just let us enjoy the weather a little longer!" She wouldn't deny that it was a little too nice outside. Why not give the guys a break?

"Ugh. Fine." All of them brought up their hands and applauded her agreement. "But I'm going to make all of you train through the rain."

"Yes ma'am! That sounds refreshing!" Viper sounded off from among the men planted on the ground.

"I swear, you guys are a pain." Lydia rolled her eyes.

"Lydia!" Lydia's debacle with the MSF staff was interrupted as Kaz came into view. She smiled and turned her attention to the handsome man walking toward her. He brushed his hair back with his right hand the moment he stood close enough to her. "Hey, I'm going to go pick up a client in the city. Hopefully Snake will be back in time so they aren't waiting long."

"A client?" Lydia raised an eyebrow. "Really? What for? We usually don't bring clients to our base."

"You know all the Costa Rican shenanigans? I _know_ we'll really have a lead as to what's been going on if we hear them out. I hope The Boss is up to listening."

"Well, let's _hope_ they have a good enough reasoning and intel." Lydia sighed.

"Hey…by the way…you going to be ok?" Kaz changed the subject, a little concern in his voice.

"Am I gonna be…oh…the rain. Yeah." Lydia shrugged, keeping a pleasant look glued to her face. "I'm sure a little rain won't harm nothin'. If anything starts to come up I'll prolly go to my bungalow."

"Ok good. Lydia, I want you to be a part of this meeting, too. There's a woman in the party I'm picking up. I think she may be more comfortable if she sees another one around." Kaz shoved his hands in his pockets and motioned his head to follow him to the jeep. "Not to mention, the man that is traveling with her is willing to strike a deal with us to hook us up with a larger facility in the Caribbean so we can expand." Lydia's eyes widened as she followed him to the jeep.

"What, are you kidding me? That's awesome."

"Yeah, I know. He must really want our help if he's looking to invest that much. We'll just have to see what The Boss has to say about it. For now, keep your fingers crossed." Once they both reached the Jeep, Kaz leaned down and stole a quick kiss from her lips. "I'll be back." He held up a peace sign and hopped in the vehicle.

"Drive safe you hooligan." Lydia cracked a laugh the moment he started the car.

"Oh you know me." As the car started to back away he winked and proceeded to drive off toward the city to pick up the two suspicious incoming characters.


	33. Chapter 33

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS franchise!**

 **Author's Note: Wowee what an odd delay that was! Thank you to everyone who subscribed to the story! And a big thank you to everyone who reviewed! I love your reviews, it's a way for me to connect with all of ya'll and I'm glad you're enjoying it so far! But anywho! A few days late, but here it is! Enjoy! :3**

 **GuestK:** LMAO I'm just about dead reading your review! Finally we're on to Peace Walker! *dun dun dun!* Glad you enjoyed it! :)

 **CaptainMc** : Heeeeeeey! Thank you! :D Here's the next chapter! Enjoy! :3

 **Guest** : Oh my goodness, you don't even KNOW how excited I am for Chico, Amanda, Strangelove and Huey! ESPECIALLY Cécile and her birdy/French shenanigans! *rubs hands together mischievously* I'm glad you're enjoying it so far! Here's the next installment!

* * *

 **"Sing, sing a song,**

 **Make it simple to last.**

 **Your whole life long.**

 **Don't worry that it's not g** **ood enough,**

 **For anyone e** **lse to hear.**

 **Just sing, sing a song."**

 **-The Carpenters**

* * *

It seemed as if some higher power was upset that Lydia was running through an intense training regimen with the men of MSF because the rain was violently plummeting from the sky. The soldiers present were all soaking wet from getting thrown around in the awful weather. Kaz had been absent for a few hours picking up the clients and Snake would be returning any moment now.

The men were putting on a fascinating display of CQC, a _lot_ better than a few months ago. They were sported in the tactical gear just begging to get thrown down! Lydia focused on the men, keeping their formation straight an in queue. If one was out of line, it was due time that they would be tossed over her shoulder. Luckily, she didn't have to do much of that on this gloomy evening.

The horizon was perpetually dark and only set the mood to welcome the ominous future visitors to their humble abode. There was no way the rain was letting up any time soon. Instead of fearing the storm this time, Lydia decided to embrace it's presence; feeling a minimal amount of discomfort while out and about with the other men. Through the beating of the rain, Lydia overheard the approaching of an engine…but it didn't belong to a jeep. Her head shifted into the direction of the command room, witnessing Snake drive in cooly on a spiffy-looking motorcycle.

"Snake!" She called out. "Men, keep at it!" Slightly surprised at the new ride, Lydia jogged toward him to close the distance the moment he parked. "Welcome back."

"Hngh, thanks." He sounded off, turning off the engine to the bike.

"And nice ride." Lydia sized up the attractive-looking vehicle, not going to mention how much GMP he had to use to buy it. Her eyes turned back to Snake as she heard him try to strike his lighter, attempting to light a new cigar that was sitting between his teeth. "Snake…do you _see_ the weather? Do you really think that will light?" All he did was look at her through the corner of his eye, making her shiver at her own smart-ass remark.

Snake grunted in frustration and took the cigar out of his mouth, returning it safely into one of his many pockets attached to his pants. "You are always the one with the _reasonable_ explanation, aren't you?"

"Ha! You know me!" Lydia puffed out her chest placing her hands on her hips. "Now…" She shifted her weight to one side. "The guys have improved a lot since you're absence…especially in CQC. I'm confident to say that they're _actually_ getting it!" Lydia felt proud. After many months of trial and error, she finally found the perfect way of teaching everyone the fighting style. She had honed their skills in demonstrating in one on one combat first. The same amount of time to every soldier before moving on to group practice where there would not have her support. Granted, it took a while to go through everyone but it seemed to help with morale of the crew in the long-run.

Raven, the fastest growing soldier out of everyone was the first to step up and become a secondary teacher to the new recruits. Finally, each soldier was comfortable enough to fly on their own and make it to the group combat part of training. Lydia had promoted Raven to her right-hand man. He enjoyed assisting her with any task or training…his efforts to expand MSF and make it into a greater entity did not go unseen!

"Have they really?" Snake started to walk toward the troupe, being led by Raven.

"You wanna join us Snake? I would be happy to spar with you." Before the troops noticed them approaching, Snake casually threw off his upper garments to the ground below. Lydia couldn't help but notice that he was still in spectacular shape. Age hadn't slowed him down one bit!

"You take me on?" Snake chuckled the closer they got. "Hnngh, I didn't know you grew balls, Lydia." Lydia raised an eyebrow at the jab.

"And you're busting them." Lydia sighed. "Damn, Snake I haven't sparred with you in ages."

"Boss!" Raven spotted them moving toward the group. All of the soldiers stopped what they were doing and stood erect to greet their leader. Lydia saw Snake's eye twitch, he never really did enjoy that title for some reason. It probably reminded him of _her_. "Come to join us, Boss?" One thing was for sure tho, Snake looked like he was ready to rumble out in the awful weather.

"Men, Snake here is going to join us in training. Make sure to show him all that you've learned. Impress him well and you will get rewarded." Lydia sounded off.

"Yes ma'am!" Before Snake and Lydia had time to jump into the group to train, the familiar noise of the jeep that Kaz took out a few hours prior rolled back up into the lot behind them. Both Snake and Lydia turned their bodies to take a look at the parked vehicle, the identities of the other individuals in the car being hid by the heavy rain that hazed the windows. The driver door opened as Kaz stepped out of the vehicle. His blonde hair was drenched and fell flat on his head. The tarp that was fastened on to the jeep seemed like it didn't do anyone any good.

"Kaz, welcome back." Lydia called out.

"What's going on?" Snake questioned, caught off guard that Kaz had led outsiders into their camp site.

"We've got guests." Kaz answered back. Lydia's eyes locked onto the car, two shadows moving in the seats. These guests must've been the two from Costa Rica he had mentioned earlier in the day.

"Time to move?" Snake questioned as if some rival organization had figured out MSF's location. This time, hopefully, that wouldn't be the case.

"Don't worry. It's not our friends from Langley." Langley, another 'code-name' for the CIA. If they were behind what Kaz was about to pitch them, there's no telling how far the Major's grip expands. Besides the point, Lydia heard a drawn-out sigh come from Snake at the confidence in Kaz's voice. "I brought these two. Made sure we weren't followed." Kaz held up a victory sign with his right hand. Lydia back tracked and picked up Snake's shirt, tossing it back to Snake.

"Here you go. Don't want to scare away our guests now, do you?"

"Hmph." Snake scoffed. "Kaz bring 'em inside." Snake began to make his way to the main bungalow, slipping the shirt and gear back over his head before he emerged himself into the building.

"I'm glad we brought some heavy rain gear." Kaz sighed as he opened up the back doors for the two visitors.

"Yeah, lucky you." Lydia chuckled. She was completely soaked and decided to jog her way into the dry area. Upon opening the door, she began to wring out the bottom of her shirt, not even bothering with anything else.

"Here." A towel suddenly flew its way into her immediate vision. Lydia lifted up her right hand and grabbed onto the slightly damp piece of cloth.

"Thanks." She acknowledged Snake, whom had thrown it to her. She dried of her face and the ends of her hair that was tied in her classic pony-tail. In the middle of the room, Snake took a seat at the picnic-like table MSF had invested in. It wasn't long after that until Kaz led in two individuals. A larger man dressed in a grey coat and a smaller figure, which must have been the girl, dressed in a bright red raincoat. Kaz slipped off his own raincoat on entry and hung it up on a small hook on the wall.

Lydia watched him as he slicked back his wet hair with his right hand, then adjusting his bright yellow ascot immediately afterwards. "Come on in and take a seat." Kaz motioned to the table where Snake was perched.

"Welcome to MSF." Lydia greeted, making her way next to Kaz. "I'll put on some coffee." Lydia walked to the corner of the room to a coffee pot that was sitting casually on another table.

"Thank you. You know, our Sub-Commander here used to be a barista. You can never go wrong when _she's_ the one fixing the coffee."

"Especially with it being Costa Rican blend." The male guest spoke. Lydia was turned away from him, his voice was deep and raspy. She could probably a former smoker, no doubt that contributed to his damaged vocal chords. The group sat in silence until the coffee was done brewing. Lydia poured five four cups of coffee and carefully carried them over to the table, an impressive balancing act on her part. She sat down the mugs and slid one toward the older man. He looked like he could be older than Snake. His hair was brushed back and graying, which only brought more attention to his receding hair-line. His skin was littered with fine lines that complimented his square-like facial structure. His eyes were a boring blue-gray color. There was something off about him tho, Lydia couldn't put her finger on it.

The man seemed nervous somehow... It was as if he was hiding something by the way he wasn't making eye contact with her. "Here you go." Lydia lifted her hand off the mug.

"Thank you." He spoke again, this time, the raspiness in his voice sounding more strained. It sounded he smoked three cartons of cigarettes a day for the majority of his life. He instantly put the hot liquid to his lips and took a few large gulps, his face lighting up as the liquid made its way down his throat. "Ah, I feel like a new man! There's no coffee like Costa Rican coffee."

"Especially from a barista as great as Iris, here." Kaz elbowed her in the arm.

"You flatter me, Commander." Lydia rolled her eyes, unamused by the use of her codename.

"Well let's get to business." Kaz cleared his throat. "Snake, these two came all this way from the University for Peace in Costa Rica to find an audience with you."

"Really now?" Snake pulled out the cigar that he attempted to light earlier. In his other hand, he held the lighter…but his attempt was a fail yet again as the lighter didn't seem to want to catch flame. He groaned at it's stubbornness. "So, what brings a distinguished scholar from the Costa Rican government to Colombia?" He spoke through his teeth, not interested in the conversation yet.

"Well this is Professor Ramon Gálvez from the University." Kaz continued with the introduction.

"You see," Gálvez spoke up. "Over the past year, there have been sightings of an armed group in Costa Rica. They're not ours of course."

"We're fully aware." Lydia crossed her arms. "We've been keeping our eyes on them, too. And Costa Rica can't have an army, anyway."

"Correct." Gálvez clarified. "Article 12 of our constitution states that 'the army as a permanent institution is abolished.'"

"The Peace Constitution." The girl spoke. Lydia's eyes looked up at the girl whom had made her way closer to the table. She was still hidden by the large red cape, but her voice was small and sweet…very peaceful to say the least.

"So you think it's rebels who've fled Nicaragua?" Snake questioned, still slightly irritated that he couldn't get his cigar to light.

"No no…they don't appear to be guerrillas. They're far too organized." Lydia watched Gálvez as he spoke, his eyes unshifting from Snake.

"What's your government's take?" Snake questioned, staring at him right in the eye. This was a test. Snake was onto whatever information Gálvez had stored in that brain of his. Gálvez took a tiny sip of coffee and placed it back on the table with his right hand…which looked like it was gloved. Lydia squinted her eyes, wait…was it mechanical? Kaz must have noticed she was staring and nudged her arm to snap out of it. Lydia stood up straight at the notion and shrugged in defeat at the conversation between Snake and Gálvez went on.

"Apparently, the authorities in San José claim it's a multinational security firm hired by CODESA" (Development Corporation of Costa Rica). Those are lies obviously. They're bringing in state-of-the-art weaponry and equipment by the shipload." _Weapons?!_ Lydia's eyes narrowed. _How did we not get wind of this? We've been keeping an eye on the area this whole time._ Lydia's eyes narrowed at the fact that fell from the man's mouth. _Apparently not good enough._

"Where'd they get that kind of cash?" Snake cooly asked.

"Obviously they did it in a way to even fool us." Lydia sighed.

Gálvez paused before continuing. He shifted in his seat, his gaze still not breaking from Snake. "I fear…la cia may be involved." Lydia's eyes widened at the accusation. In a way it made sense to her. The CIA generally views Central America as the US's playground when it comes to some special covert operations or productions.

"The CIA?" Kaz questioned quietly as the expression on Snake's face immediately turned sour.

"As the three of you may know, the US views us as it's backyard. Even after Cuba, we've managed to maintain a delicate balance with the US."

"And your government can't just give 'em the boot?" Lydia was with Snake. Anything that could potentially be tied with the CIA was bad news. They were dangerous, especially if The Major still has a hand in everything.

"We are not allowed to bear arms." The girl spoke up again, her accent showing through more this time. Kaz's head turned to her. He took it upon himself to grab one of the mugs that were on the table and hand it to her as an offering.

"Japan's constitution has something similar: Article 9. It says Japan renounces war, and can't maintain an army." The girl shook her head at Kaz's request, causing him to sigh in defeat as he placed the cup back onto the table.

"Now I understand that you and your men have neither state nor ideology - that you will fight _any_ foe. Isn't the CIA one of those foes?" Snake responded with a small groan as he began to fidget with his lighter a few more times to light his cigar. Gálvez was silent for a few moments before lunging his torso forward. He took Lydia by surprise, she was about to jump behind him and rough-house him to the ground until she noticed that Snake sat unmoving. "Please," the man begged. "You must drive them out of our _defenseless_ country! We come to you, the renowned Militaires San Frontières." He returned to his resting position on the chair and looked around the room, noting all the MSF propaganda hanging on the walls.

"You sound desperate." Lydia crossed her arms over her chest.

"You would be too if your country couldn't do anything about it." Kaz butted in, cutting off Lydia. "It sounds like the good professor wants to hire us." Lydia's concentration moved to Snake, who looked like he was still trying to figure his guests out.

"Yes…" Gálvez continued, "…as a deterrent of sorts. We can't afford to pay much, but…" The man dug into his trench coat with his hand and pulls out a photo. He took a small glance at it before grinning, almost snidely. "We can offer you this." He placed the paper onto the table in front of Snake and slid it closer to him as if he were settling a bribe. The picture was faded, but it was a snapshot of the compound Kaz was telling Lydia about prior to leaving. It was a rather impressive structure from the looks of it…definitely a lot of cleaning up to do, but it would offer a great tool for MSF in the future. Lydia raised her eyebrow and focused her attention back onto Snake. "It's a forward operating base - an offshore plan in the Caribbean." Gálvez finished.

"Sounds pretty good to me." Kaz nodded.

"Snake, our base here is becoming quite the mess. This could really help with our goal of expansion. We want to be known to the whole world, right? I think this may be a good place to start. It's a hell of an offer for just some intel work." Lydia commented. Snake took the cigar out of his mouth and stared at the photograph for what seemed like hours…the cogs in his brain were turning.

"Snake…" Kaz spoke convincingly. "We need some place we can settle down." The words echoed in Lydia mind. Settling down in the middle of the ocean? That sounded like a fair deal to her.

"The government's agreed to cooperate…unofficially of course." Gálvez warned.

"If you wanna throw in a chopper for transport, that's be nice, too." Kaz half-grinned. Gálvez only returned the look in agreement.

"I'll see what I can do."

"Hold it!" Snake bellowed, suddenly shifting his body out of his chair. "You seem to think we're just a pack of 'Dogs of War', is that right?" He was clenching his right fist, his eye peering into Gálvez's soul. Snake was towering over Gálvez, like a bear was about to snatch a salmon out of water.

"Yes, that's what I've heard. You're an army without a state…"

"No." Snake corrected, still keeping his ground. "We've only left our countries behind."

Gálvez leaned forward, furrowing his brow to look worried. Lydia raised an eyebrow as she examined him. The look in Gálvez's eyes were dull…almost as if he was acting. _Is this guy faking it? What is going on here? Is there more to this job that just intel?_ She crossed her arms and looked to Snake, who had caught a glimpse of her suspicious glare. "Please, you have to help."

"If my suspicions are true, force isn't going to do any good. You'll have to find a political solution."

"Do you think I haven't tried that already?!" Gálvez hit his fist to the top of the table in an exaggeration. "The government's hands are tied!"

"Hmph, go back to your bosses in San Jose." Snake shut him down. "Tell them if they want, I'll introduce them to a negotiator I know."

"No." Gálvez nearly cut him off. "I'm not here on their behalf." Lydia and Kaz shared an equal glance of confusion as Gálvez continued.

"So what are you doing here?" Snake interrogated. Gálvez didn't relax, still keeping his eyes on Snake.

He sighed deeply before continuing to reason. "For over twenty years, I've preached the virtues of peace at multiple universities. Tonight, I stand before you as an educator." Gálvez sat back into his chair and motioned his hand toward the quiet girl. She lifted up her frail arms and slid the red hood off of her head to reveal herself.

She was a beautiful, maybe not a day over seventeen. Her face was slim and held the most virtuous aqua eyes. Her curly blonde hair didn't fall last her shoulders, only rested against them. Lydia could only imagine her tiny figure under that red coat. From the look in her eyes…the expression on her face…it looked as if she had seen a lot back in Costa Rica. "This is my student. She came to me to study peace. Her name is Paz Ortega." Gálvez introduced her.

"Paz?" Lydia clarified. "Like peace?" Kaz placed his right hand to his chin and formed some type of devilish grin and her name.

"No kidding? That's my name, too." Kaz gloated, retuning his hand back to his side. "Kazuhira - it's Japanese for 'peace'." Kaz took a few steps toward the young girl and offered her a hand shake. "Please to meet you, Paz. Call me Kaz" Lydia rolled her eyes. _What a charmer._ "Uhhh…" Lydia wanted to burst out in laughter at what she saw. She had left him hanging! With disappointment written all over him, Kaz slowly dropped his hand to his side in defeat.

"Iris." Lydia smiled, not wanting to make her too uncomfortable by offering another hand shake. Paz had looked in her direction, nodding her head slightly in acknowledgement.

"Anyway…" Gálvez urged on. "They've got a supply port north of Puerto Limon, a town en la Costa Rica del Marcaribe. A few days ago, Paz stumbled upon that facility while searching for a lost friend. She was captured. She's only a child." Gálvez sighed depressingly. Lydia's eyes were still on Paz, water from the storm still dripping off of her body. She wasn't even trembling at the mention of her past. "Only sixteen years old. They did…terrible things to her. But somehow, she managed to escape."

Lydia's heart beat faster at the mention of torture. This young girl, still with her whole life ahead of her, just about went through the worst things possible at her age. Lydia clenched her fist to her side, thunder booming outside. She could feel Kaz's eyes on her for a moment before she closed her own, inhaling through her nose. Everything was quiet in her mind, all she could hear was the pattering of rain against the wooden shack. Nobody should go through torture…especially just a girl at that age.

She had no choice but to tone them out. The memories began to resurface as her heart-rate grew. Those scars would stay with Paz forever. Although she may have nothing physical, the mental image would be branded into her mind forever. Lydia inhaled deeply one more time before opening her eyes to see Paz had made her way across the room, idly standing in front of Snake; waiting for a response of some kind. "Sorry, kid." Snake spoke up. Paz did not waver, she was still staring at him with all the determination she could muster.

"We know who you are…" Gálvez stood up from his chair. "Big Boss…that is why we've come to you." _Big Boss?_ Lydia glanced to Snake, who's eye twitched in annoyance at the mention of the name. _Is that the name he received after Snake Eater?_ Lydia tried to think back until she was interrupted by Gálvez.

"Forget it." Paz spoke up, voice cracking. She was biting down on her lip to keep herself from breaking down. "He was not the man we thought." Lydia and Kaz sighed simultaneously.

"I won't take 'no' for on answer." Gálvez tried. "You can tell us to leave, but I'm not setting foot any where else."

"I think that leaving would be in your best interest. It seems like his mind is made up." Lydia admitted. Paz covered her head with her red hood once more before strutting out of the building with disappointment. Gálvez sighed, watching the girl walk out.

"I'll be waiting for you answer."

"I thought the answer was clear…" Lydia backed up Snake's argument.

"Well give us a few minutes to talk things over." Kaz spoke up. "Let's not make any hasty decisions." Gálvez didn't wait for Kaz to finish before walking out into the pouring rain.

"They're determined, that's for sure." Lydia watched Snake sit back in his chair. He only sighed and placed the cigar back to his lips. He fidgeted with the lighter before attempting to strike it…it must have been out of fluid. Lydia's eyebrow twitched at the sight of him still trying to light the cigar.

"Come on Snake, this could be good for us." Kaz pushed.

"Kaz, I know you're the business man, but if Snake says 'no', he means it. He's not going to jump into something he thinks is too dangerous." Lydia argued.

"We were wanting to know what was happening in Costa Rica anyway." Kaz shrugged.

"Didn't you hear Gálvez? The CIA may be involved, it's different now. You have no idea what some of those people are capable of." Kaz held a bastardly know-it-all look on his face that almost made her want to punch him in his perfect teeth.

"Are they still here?" Snake broke the tension with disappointment. Kaz walked over to the lone window by the front door and peered outside into the awful weather. Kaz hummed as a response, notating that the two had not left the area.

"Snake, they're willing to give us an offshore plant…a place we can finally put down some roots. This may be our only chance to expand MSF. That is what you want, isn't it?"

"We don't need a place to stay, Kaz. We're nomads. We always will be." Snake struck the lighter one more time.

"What? So you'd rather keep wandering from conflict to conflict, tools in the hands of whoever's fighting at the time?"

"The second we settle down, who's to say we won't become warmongers?" Snake argued. Any army without a nation or state, that's what MSF stood for, right? Why was Kaz so driven to accept this offer? Kaz did bring up some valid points, but once Snake has his feet in the mud, he's not's budging.

"Listen to me, Snake." Kaz reasoned. "We're not mercenaries, we're not a foreign legion. MSF's a business. A new kind of business." Snake groaned. Lydia crossed her arms.

"Kaz, we have no idea who that security company is. If the CIA is tied to it, quite frankly, this could be out of our reach." Lydia placed her right hand on her hip, trying to tone out Snake's lighter.

"Lydia, Snake…look, it's not like we're trying to start a war here. All we need to do is just find out who this security company really is."

"C'mon, Kaz…it's pretty obvious they're backed by the CIA." Snake groaned, getting more frustrated as he was still unable to smoke his irritations away.

"Are you getting it now?" Lydia confirmed. "Snake and I have history with them, if you forgot."

"Wait a sec…" Kaz placed his right hand to his chin. "Would that mean…?"

"Our friend the 'Professor' is likely KGB." It's like a light-bulb went off in Lydia's head. A KGB spy? "We'd be making an enemy of our homeland." Snake admitted.

"I see…"

"All that trust we built up…some of our clients may want nothing to do with us if we take this job…same goes for any future cases, too. There would be no turning back from this."

"Augh!" Snake exclaimed, nearly throwing the lighter across the room. "This damn thing won't light!"

"Well that's what you get for trying to use a lighter in the rain." Lydia rolled her eyes. "In any case, put on some more coffee, Lydia. It's time for a little chat with the 'professor'." Snake stood up from his chair and made his way to the door. As Snake proceeded to walk, Kaz tapped his knuckles against the glass window to catch their attention.

Lydia sighed and poured some coffee grounds into the small coffee machine in the corner of the room, setting it to brew not too long after. As the door opened, Lydia heard the light pattering of footsteps from the girl as she entered, followed by the striking of a lighter. _Did he finally get that pice of crap to work?_ Lydia turned around, half-grinning to herself. "What the?" She quietly whispered to herself in surprise. His arm! Gálvez's arm! There was FIRE coming out of his THUMB. His arm wasn't just covered with a red glove, her suspicions were correct! Gálvez carried a red mechanical arm! Amazing! Lydia heard a light chuckle from Kaz whom was still standing across the room, probably insulting the look she had plastered on her face. She shot him a lethal place that was sure to knock him off his feet, but nope. Who was she kidding? Kaz wasn't threatened by her one bit.

The smell of cigar smoke slowly filled the room as Snake took in a giant puff from the cuban masterpiece. "Heh, I was a heavy smoker." Gálvez grumbled. Sure did sound like it! He retracted his right arm and examined it. "When I got my medal from the secretary-general, he gave me this prosthetic hand as well… But smoking was ruining my lungs, so I quit. I've not had much use for it since."

"That's pretty damn cool tho." Lydia stared, earning a chuckle from Gálvez.

"It's quite an honor to meet the _legendary_ Big Boss and his side-kick Iris I've heard so much about."

"Side-kick? Makes us sound like Batman and Robin." Snake turned to Lydia with a raised eyebrow, not getting the reference. Lydia shrugged with a nervous smile. "Ehhh, never mind."

"That's just a code name the CIA made up." Snake replied, returning his gaze to Gálvez. Lydia's eyes met Kaz's sunglasses again, who was just staring at her like she had done the most hilarious thing in the world. Lydia cocked her head to the right and spread out her arms in defense. It wasn't her fault Snake didn't get the reference! The next words out of Gálvez's mouth was a name she hadn't heard in a long time.

"Then perhaps I should call you John?" _John? How does he know that?_ Lydia's eyes narrowed. "And you, Lydia?" _My name, that's predictable. I went by it all the time when I moved…but Jack's nickname? Who would have told him that? There are only a handful of people who knew him by that name. The Major?_ There was no use conspiring about it now.

"I don't have a name." Snake countered. "Stopped using that code name you like so much ten years ago. What about you, comrade? What do they call you back at tsentr?" Snake brought his cigar back to his lips with that sly remark. The look in Gálvez's blue eyes darkened at the truthful accusation. He'd been found out, by the content look on Gálvez face, he didn't expect anything less from Snake. He sure was something amazing, that's for sure.

In the corner of Lydia's eye, she witnessed Paz int he process of taking off her bright red rain-jacket. "Here, I got you." Lydia took a few steps toward her and took the jacket from the young girl's grasp.

"Gracias." She smiled. She was wearing a dark-blue school uniform with black knee-high socks and some pretty comfortable shoes. Lydia didn't know what type of personality she had, but the clothing definitley suited her.

"De nada." Lydia replied, nearly sizing her up the moment she began to wring out the hem of her skirt. The water dripped onto the wooden floor in a messy fashion. Lydia shook her head out of the trance and gently placed her jacket onto a small table that was stationed on the eastern side of the room, next to Paz.

"Well then…allow me to get straight to the point." Gálvez continued. Lydia smelt the aroma of the coffee enter the air as he continued talking. The only thing better than breaking identities is the aromatherapy of coffee. Lydia made her way to the coffee pot and then travelled over to the mugs she had placed down earlier. She refilled the cups with the fantastic liquid. Grabbing a mug, she tuned back into Gálvez's conversation.

"Central America is the navel of the American Continents, bridging north and south." Lydia inwardly sighed. Her eyes fell on one of the empty chairs sitting at the table in the middle of the room. _Well, don't mind if I do._ Lydia slowly made her way to one of the chairs and gladly planted her tush on the seat. She brought the hot cup of coffee to her lips, the substance warming her being on the way down her throat. "We want this land. We'll build a socialist stronghold then use it to split the Americas in two."

"That would mean America would be loosing its backyard." Kaz interjected, crossing his arms across his chest. "Good idea, Lydia. Let's have a seat." Kaz motioned for them to sit down at the table. Gálvez nodded while Snake, Kaz and himself migrated over to the table and sat across from one another. Kaz pulled up a chair next to Lydia and sat to her left. Snake sat in his own chair on Kaz's left and Gálvez resumed his position across from them. Paz was still focused on getting all the water out of her skirt.

"You're right. They won't only lose their back yard. With it, they say goodbye to its economic production, shipping lanes, and strategic value. We, on the other hand, would gain a base from which all of Latin America would be well within our reach. He who controls Central America will win this Cold War. But it's more complex than that. That CIA's got something else planned as well."

"And what would that be?" Lydia asked, taking another sip of the strong coffee.

"THAT is the million dollar question." Lydia rolled her eyes as she was shut down. "Big Boss, we want you and your unit to find the answer. Infiltrate and investigate the facility en La Costa where Paz was imprisoned. Learn all you can of their operations. Then, drive them out of the country."

Snake took in a giant puff of his cigar and slowly sighed out the smoke, letting it fill the air before responding. "You're asking us to settle a turf war between the KGB and the CIA?"

Kaz shifted in his seat. "What about _her_? That was all just an act?" Kaz nodded his head toward Paz, who had come closer to the table.

"Hmm, you mean her words about peace? She was captured - that much is true. But I've kept my KGB affiliation from her."

"Until now, that is." Lydia snidely took another sip of her coffee. "You thought we would just fall for a sob story? Give me a break." Lydia insulted.

"No." Gálvez argued. "Believe it or not, I had a good reason to bring her along." Lydia's eyes fell on the girl, whom eyes were sad, looking as if she was remembering what had happened to her during her capture. "She managed to escape with her life. But her friend was not so lucky. You, Lydia, can possibly imagine how she feels." Lydia's eye twitched. How did he know so much? He must know someone in the states to tell him that she was tortured. "And then we ask the question, why were _they_ attacked? I believe this will explain." Gálvez dug on the inside of his jacket with his right arm and pulled out a small tape. Gálvez's brow furrowed as he looked into Snake's eyes. "Perhaps they saw something they weren't supposed to. Perhaps they heard something they shouldn't have." He removed his hand to reveal the Sony brand tape to the trio. "Paz took the during her escape. She said her friend happened to record it by accident."

Gálvez dug in his pocket again, pulling out a bulkier machine along with some type of speaker that connected to it. "What's that?" Kaz questioned. Lydia could nearly feel his curiosity swell out of his brain as he attempted to comprehend the machine placed in front of them.

"A portable stereo cassette player. A Walkman. The first of its kind." Gálvez began to sewing the tape as he placed it into the Walkman's port.

"Ah. I heard they were working on something like that in Japan. Didn't know you guys were, too." Lydia elbowed Kaz with her left arm, causing him to rub the area of impact. "Ow."

"I believe what you're about to hear will help you understand." The tape stopped rewinding, and not one moment later, it began to play. Over the speaker, various chirping and a distinct bird-call could be heard over the radio.

"What's that? A quetzal?" Kaz inquired.

"Hell if I know, I'm no bird expert." Lydia listened closely.

"The Phoenix Bird?" Snake spoke.

"Paz's friend was researching birds. She went out in the jungle to record bird calls and stumbled upon this." Gálvez went on as the speaker started to short out. Static filled the air, it made the atmosphere feel as thick as the cigar smoke that was floating around. Listening carefully, Lydia could hear the sound of a horse breathing and neighing. Odd…a horse out in the middle of the jungle. That was a first.

"So? So what?!" Kaz was nervous. Snake held up his right hand to shut Kaz up as Gálvez fast-forwarded the tape for a few seconds.

"Now it gets interesting." Gálvez continued playing the tape, the bird calls had became louder, fused together to deliver a beautiful sound that echoed in the bungalow. Almost blending into the background, Lydia could hear the voice of a woman…it almost sounded mechanical.

 _" - I must get rid of it - chase it back to its nest."_

 _"You can't."_ A woman's voice with an English accent sounded over, much clearer. _"The snake's too vicious. It's - many people."_

 _"I will chase it away."_ A familiar tune was playing in the background, it almost sounded like it was from The Carpenters...

 _"It will bite you unless you kill it."_

 _"GO HOME!"_

Lydia nearly fell over in her chair as the voice jogged her memory. "Boss?!"

"The Boss?!" Lydia and Snake nearly shouted over each other in surprise. Snake's eye was wide, his skin was pale like all blood had exited his body somehow.

"Voiceprint analysis confirms that this cove is indeed that of the legendary hero - and criminal - The Boss."

"No way." Lydia shook her head. _She died! That's impossible!_

"What?!" Snake almost tripped over his words that time.

"The other one hasn't been identified. Female, in her thirties, with a British accent. The song playing in the background was a hit in 1973."

As the tape continued playing, Snake's eyes became distant. He almost looked…worried. The Boss meant everything to him, hell, she thought him everything that he knew. But there was no way she was still alive…was there? "Boss…is alive in Costa Rica?" Snake pondered.

The look on Gálvez's face was sly…he had this ace in the hole the entire time. "As I understand it, she was you commander, fought by you side…and that you killed her under orders from the CIA…Thus surpassing her to become the hero known as Big Boss."

"That's enough!" Lydia hollered and slammed her fist onto the table, causing Paz to jump. Snake was remembering, having some type of flash-back. He was sweating from his brow and breathing heavily. Lydia had only seen The Boss only once in a confrontation with Snake before escaping from Groznyj Grad ten years ago. Her consciousness weighed heavy on Snake…no telling that he was traumatized just by hearing her voice.

"Well?" Gálvez cocked his right eyebrow and snidely grinned, examining Snake's reaction. "What'll it be? Will you take the job?"

"Snake." Lydia butted in, looking beyond Kaz to try and snap him out of his daze. "This is obviously a trap. She's _dead_."

"Lydia might be right, Snake."

"So you _still_ can't turn your back on your country…" Gálvez scoffed.

"You shut the hell up you son of a -" Lydia almost launched herself out of her chair before Kaz was able to keep her down.

"I suppose in that case, you won't need this." Gálvez took the tape out of the cassette player and struck the lighter that was built into his mechanical arm. Slowly, he inched the tape closer to the fire before Snake stood up from his chair, knocking it back to the floor.

"Wait!" He snatched the tape right out of Gálvez's clutches in an instant!

"Snake?!" Lydia and Kaz spoke simultaneously.

"I'll do it for the girl. For Paz." Lydia narrowed her eyes at Gálvez who shut off the lighter and held up his index and middle finger for a sign of peace.

"Ok…" Kaz motioned, standing up from the table. "For peace then." Lydia's eyes moved to Paz, she was smiling; tears almost coming out of her eyes.

"I'll get everything in oder." Gálvez winked. "I suppose you have some news to break to your men about the big move." _That was dirty. Snake wouldn't have done this damn job if he hadn't heard The Boss. But is she really alive? He says he's doing it for Paz…but knowing him…he has his own agenda to worry about._ Lydia sighed and stood up from the table, watching Gálvez and Paz make their way to the door. "We'll be staying in the city. No need to drive us. I'll arrange another helicopter for your transport to the Caribbean. Be ready to move tomorrow."

Lydia sighed. "I'll tell the boys." Lydia worked her way past the two visitors and out onto the muddy beach, where the men had retreated into their respective bungalows. The rain had let up a bit while they were dishing it out.

"Lydia, wait!" A strong hand gripped itself around her shoulder, spinning her around. "Why were you getting so defensive in there?"

"Did you not see how dirty he was playing?" Lydia raised an eyebrow, brushing Kaz's hand off of her shoulder. "Yeah, we're moving to a more stable compound…but at what cost? I've got a bad feeling about this job." Lydia sighed. "There's not way that's Her…I heard Snake confirm she was dead with my own ears."

"Well whatever it is, there's no doubt we'll find the reason why the CIA is over there. There's bigger fish to fry than some tape recording." Lydia sighed.

"I suppose. You wanna help me with breakin' the news?" She pointed her thumb behind her shoulder to the string of bungalows.

"Sure, I can help you in other ways if you want, too." Kaz winked under his glasses. Lydia rolled her eyes with a nervous smile and turned around to continue her mission. No doubt about it, there was one generous adventure ahead…but first, it was moving time.


	34. Chapter 34

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise!**

 **Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who subscribed to the story! Before we begin, I KNOW Mother Base started out with square-shaped platforms and didn't upgrade to the hexagon-esque figures until later. I decided, for my own sanity, to have them start out with the hexagonal bases instead of the square. I also decided to add on the Medical Team from the start as well. Those were the only major changes to the original MSF Mother Base I made. Without further delay, here is the next chapter; I hope you enjoy! This chapter's a little choppy, but there's more necessary fluffy development and then I was like "ahhhhhh let's get a move on!" So this chapter covers a few days! But hey! Next chapter we meet Amanda! WOOOOO! :3**

 **R.E.W. 4:** Thanks for the review! :D Here is the next chapter, I'm glad you're enjoying it so far!

 **GuestK:** Ha! Couldn't be my CO either! I thought that would be a funny jab to throw in there :) I'm glad you're still enjoying it and excited for future chapters! Enjoy! :3

* * *

 **"I've stumbled on the side of twelve misty mountains.**

 **I've walked and I've crawled on six crooked highways.**

 **I've stepped in the middle of seven sad forests.**

 **I've been out in front of a dozen dead oceans.**

 **I've been ten thousand miles in the mouth of a graveyard.**

 **And it's a hard, and it's hard, it's a hard, and it's a hard,**

 **It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall."**

 **-Bob Dylan**

* * *

 **November 5, 1974 07:00**

The new base almost looked like a joke from first glance. Seagulls… _everywhere_. Bird crap and rust covered almost every inch of the two platforms they were bargained. Hiding the stench of the birds was the salty ocean breeze. Nonetheless, it was so much cooler than what she was expecting.

The bases were constructed as a hex-type, which gives a lot more surface area than any other types of platforms. Hexagonal structures are some of the strongest out there and would sustain most any damage attempted. A fascinating place to say the least. Nonetheless, there was a _lot_ of cleaning to do on the three primary structures that awaited their assistance. "So, what do you think?" Kaz patted Lydia on the shoulder, whom was admiring the filthy surroundings.

"Besides for the ocean part of it…I think it's a piece of shit…quite literally."

"Well, we can fix that before Snake wants to make his way over. There are plenty cleaning supplies in that command tower." Kaz pointed to the tall tower in the middle of the platform. "Did you happen to find out where the sleeping quarters were?"

"They're below deck." Lydia turned to him. "Looks like we're going to have to invest in some new furniture for us. But as of now, we have cots we can set up."

"I'd say if we get our Mother Base all cleaned up in three days, then we've earned more than just beds!" Kaz tapped her butt with the palm of his left hand before walking to the command tower. Lydia narrowed her eyes as he got farther away. Lydia couldn't help but smile to herself not long after and follow Kaz into the tower.

"So, what are we gonna do? The pilots worked over-night taking supplies to a fro. We should prolly give them a break." Lydia spoke as she caught up with Kaz, whom was looking around for a supply room. The tower was a pretty large area, it reminded her of a hospital with how clean it was on the inside. It was a shame most of the upkeep is going to go to the exterior.

"That sounds like a good idea. I guess we'll round up the other guys and have them start working on the exterior."

"Gotta get down and dirty before everything else." Kaz stopped in his tracks and turned around, facing her with a smile on his face.

"Oh Lydia…are you coming onto me?"

"What?" Lydia raised an eyebrow, backtracking on her words. "Ohhhhh, no I didn't mean it that way. But if you wan't to take it as such, I will not oppose." She poked his chest with her index finger, clicking her tongue against her cheek on impact.

"I'm gonna get nothing done with you following me around." He took her hand and pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her back. "What do you say you and I slip away and take up a room of our own for a little while?"

"With the smell of bird feces everywhere? Nah, I'll pass this time." Lydia leaned up and kissed him on the cheek before prying herself away. "I'll go down below and round up the guys, you just get all those cleaning supplies ready, yeah?" Lydia quickly saluted her right hand to her head and jogged off toward the entrance of the building, leaving Kaz star-struck.

Hours later, everyone was still hard at work scrubbing and scraping off any type of unappealing gunk that seemed to be branded onto the platforms. It took a lot of elbow grease, but everyone was able to clean it spit-spot in only a few days! Kaz had found some suitable quarters for him, Lydia and Snake another others. They were located with all the others but on the top floor in one medium-sized building that was planted on the platform directly north from the Command Base. From the size of the buildings, it looks like everyone would be able to get a room fit for two! They could harbor nearly three-hundred soldiers in these buildings if need-be!

Whoever owned this place before had a ton of money put into it, the structure was incredible! Not only that, but they installed some kind of ocean thermal energy conversion system…so all their electricity was converted in from the ocean from some type of turbines! Amazing! There was so much storage space and even places for expansion if they were looking to develop any more platforms in the future. It was an excellent deal so far!

* * *

 **November 8, 1974 19:00**

Mother Base had finally received an order of mattresses and metal bed frames by supply-drop for any room that needed them. Finally, the crew can sleep comfortably for a change! Besides the extra various supplies, Mother Base had come together quite nicely. It was clean, smelling loads better and a lovely place to call home. Everyone had gathered into the mess hall to celebrate with some food and beer to bring the cleaning spree to a close!

Lydia stood in front of everyone with a beer in her right hand, holding it up in a toast fashion. "Everyone, I want to thank you for all you hard work these past few days! We're only getting started, but I'm glad we can call this our home. Here's to the future!"

"To the future!" All thirty of them shouted, bringing up their glass bottles.

"Speaking of future!" Kaz stood up from his seat amongst the crowd. "Snake gave me the ok to create different branches within MSF. Starting tomorrow morning, we're going to assign every one of you to a group based on the attributes you're most efficient in. Snake is going to be recruiting as many men as he sees fit, so there will not be a shortage of new faces around here. Be model soldiers and show them how it's done, alright?"

"Yessir!" They raised their beer bottles another time at Kaz's words. As the celebration continued, Lydia had decided to stop drinking and retire outside to meet with the fresh evening air. She made her way to the edge of the platform and sat on the ledge, dangling her feet off the side. Leaning back on her hands, she stared out into the dark depths that were being lit by the plethora of stars that littered the sky. The lights expanded as far as she could see and no doubt continued beyond the horizon. It's strange how something so vast and beautiful as the ocean could potentially be so terrifying and destructive.

They've really come far. MSF was now getting bigger and more confident by the day. Everything that Snake had envisioned was becoming a reality. Lydia had felt proud to be a part of every minute of it. It still comes to her mind what she would be doing if Snake had not found her residency back in Colombia. Would she still be out there making coffee? No doubt!

She wouldn't have met Kaz, Raven, or the other guys either if it wasn't for his arrival. _It sure is a small world._ She smiled at the recollection. Kaz had crossed her mind. He had seemed happier these past few days, as if something heavy had been taken off of his shoulders. From a business stand-point, this is exactly where he needed to be to make a difference. He was one hell of a guy. "Something on your mind?"

"Heh, think of the devil and he shows up, huh?" Lydia joked as she kept her eyes on the horizon. From her peripherals, Kaz had taken a seat next to her in a familiar fashion to her current position.

"Glad to know you're thinkin' of me." He nudged her. "Anyway, how do you like it?"

"What, the base? I think it's a great start and there's a lot of room for improvement."

"I agree. I'm glad Snake decided to take that job. I can't wait to see what he thinks about the place."

"For sure." Lydia nodded. The silence that was to follow wasn't awkward…it was calming. The sea breeze gently touching their bodies, no cares or worry. This was it, this is where everything would begin. Maybe it was Kaz at her side that made her feel at ease, if that was the case…she wish he would never leave. Her right hand moved on its own, finding its way on top of Kaz's. She could feel his hand tense up the moment she touched him, but soon relaxed. He removed his left hand out from underneath her's and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, bringing her to rest against the side of his body. She comfortably leaned her right cheek on the ball of his shoulder as they stared out into the distance. His left thumb was rubbing against her arm. She felt fuzzy, like her heart was going to melt. Her stomach started to coil the more she sat with him in silence.

"It's getting late, yeah?" Lydia finally spoke. "You wanna be a gentleman and walk me to my room?"

"Didn't I already tell you that 'gentle' was my middle name?" Kaz smiled, slowly dragging his hand down her arm before returning it to his side. Kaz was the first to stand up and help her afterwards. He placed his hand on the small of her back and led her to their quarters on the platform directly north of the command center. Once in the hall, Kaz stopped outside of her room, which was only two doors down from his. "You know, I'm right there if you want to stop by." He nodded his head toward his room.

"Oh, I know. And I'm right here if you need me." Lydia smiled. "Thanks, Kaz." Lydia opened the metal door, then was abruptly stopped when Kaz snatched her hand.

"Lydia…uhh…" Kaz nearly tripped over his words. "Can I… _May_ I come in?" Lydia smiled to herself, feeling her heart flutter with excitement.

"I though you'd never ask."

* * *

 **November 9, 1974: 06:00**

Lydia opened her eyes every morning like clockwork. Although, there was something different this time. The warm body of Kazuhira Miller decided to stay the night for the first time since the start of their bedroom escapades. Lydia smiled as her eyes roamed his sleeping face. He was so handsome, what had overcome him to actually stay the entire night? Was it that Snake wasn't present? Or was it something else? The butterflies hatched in Lydia's stomach and started to float around the more she stared at him trying to conspire his motive. _I've gotta move._ She resisted all urges to touch him and decided to roll out of bed to prevent herself from doing so.

In her new room, there was a small full-service bathroom that came equipped with a stand-in shower. Lydia waltzed into the bathroom, slowly shutting the door behind her making sure not to not wake up Kaz. Her eyes then turned to greet herself in the mirror. Her blonde hair was messy and unbrushed. She had darker circles around her eyes than normal, her skin was paler…something about her didn't feel right…then again she _did_ just wake up. Lydia faced the shower and turned it on, letting the water heat up before stepping in. She let the warm water travel down her body. She ran her fingers through her hair and sighed before she heard the door swing open, as if someone was trying to stealthily maneuver in.

Lydia brought her right hand to the edge of the curtain and drew it back just enough to see Kaz attempting to sneak up on her. "Got you, Kaz. You know you can't sneak up on me."

"I've done it before." He grinned. "Mind if I join you?"

"Join me?" Lydia blushed.

"What're you blushing for?"

"The water's just too warm, ok?!" Lydia shut the curtain to shield herself until Kaz broke the barrier and just stepped right in.

"Oh please, the water isn't too warm." Kaz smiled. Lydia looked away from him in embarrassment. Kaz's right hand found its way to the crevice of her neck, gently gliding its way over her scarring.

"Uhhh, thank you, Kaz." Lydia finally sounded out the words she kept in.

"For what?" He asked dumbfounded, keeping his hand on her shoulder.

"You know…you spent the night. It was nice waking up to see you for once." _It meant a lot._ She wanted to say, but couldn't muster up the courage.

"Now that I _can_." Kaz grinned, guiding his hand to the back of her neck. He pulled her out of the trickling water and kissed her on the lips.

Within no time, it was the hour to suit up and round up what troops they had for assignments. Lydia and Kaz made it out of their own quarters and met up with the men not long after. They were all standing at attention in an organized fashion, each on eager as to what position they will be holding in their new home. "Good morning, men." Kaz greeted.

"Sir!"

"So serious so early, haha! Can't help that." Kaz shrugged. Out from his breast pocket, Kaz pulled out a folded document and proceeded to fumble with it until the font written on it was readable. Lydia kept her eyes on the men as they waited in anticipation. "As you know…" Kaz cleared his throat. "I will be staying the Commander and Lydia the Sub-C. Snake has yet to tell us what bay he wants either of us to focus on, so you come to us for now if you need help with anything."

"Sir!"

"Without further ado, here are the squad leaders. Congratulations on your promotion. Raven, lead of the medical team. Viper, lead of Research and Development. Komodo Dragon, lead of combat team. We have someone in mind for intelligence work for mission support and staff in the mess hall as well, but we just don't have the man-power just yet to form that group. Here are the rest of your assignments…" As Kaz went on, listing the names to their appropriate group, Lydia thought of Snake. He must've been closing in on the objective area by now…should be there early tomorrow morning. What is the CIA doing over there? Could The Major be behind it? Nevertheless, they would for sure figure it out soon.

* * *

 **November 10, 1974: 09:00.**

Paz and Gálvez had arrived on base around 06:00. They were escorted to the living quarters where they would make themselves comfortable before continuing on with their days. The time was nearing 09:00 before Lydia knew it, they were expecting a radio in from Snake any moment now. Kaz and Lydia met up in the Command Tower. They were stationed in a large room on the fifth floor of the building, which they designated to be the room for main operations and intelligence while Snake's on the field. It was very spacious with a large round table in the middle that looked like it was something out of a movie. On the walls were multiple television screens; no doubt they could program them to display something interesting in the future.

Paz had made their acquaintance not too short after their arrival. Lydia looked toward the sliding door and smiled when they made eye-contact. "Good morning, Paz." Lydia greeted.

"Ah, good morning!" She responded. Paz was holding an abundance of large, rolled up documents in her arms. "I brought something!"

"How gracious of you." Kaz butted in, walking past Lydia, holding out his arms to take some of the material she carried. To both of their surprise she waltzed right by him and dropped them all on the table! Lydia felt a laugh rising to her throat as Kaz sighed in defeat.

"I brought maps of the area Snake will be investigating." Paz smiled, holding up a peace sign with her right hand. "I know a lot about the area, so if Snake has any questions about the environment I can tell him exactly what he needs to know!"

"That's amazing Paz!" Lydia complimented. "Glad we brought you along." Lydia walked up to the table and began to unroll the maps. "You know what would be cool tho, Kaz?" Lydia asked while sprawling out the largest map.

"What would that be?"

"If we had live digital maps that could mark objectives and other important objects and transmit that data to anyone that was out on the field."

"Hmmm…" Kaz pondered. "That technology sounds complicated…but I'm pretty sure with enough Intel and R&D skill, we could make something just as good. I'll keep that in mind."

"That would be amazing!" Paz clapped her hands together in a cute fashion.

"Wouldn't it? I'm just a basket full of neat ideas!" Lydia winked at Paz. After rolling out all the maps, Lydia stood up straight and dug in her right pant pocket, pulling out a comms radio, branded with the title of Codec. "We need some kind of speaker." Lydia mentioned, looking around the room. To no avail, there were a few Sony brand speakers sitting in the corner of the room collecting dust!

"Here, I got one." Kaz spoke, making his way to Lydia with a speaker in hand.

"Thank you." Lydia took it from his grasp and placed it on the table, hooking up the codec to the speaker to ensure everyone was capable of hearing Snake when he chimed in. It wasn't until 09:23 when the slight buzzing through the speaker was heard. Snake had made contact! Finally!

"This is Snake, do you read me?"

Lydia leaned forward and pressed the 'talk' button on the Codec. "Loud and clear, Snake."

"I've made it to the coast." Kaz held out his hand for him to take control of the Codec. Lydia passed it over to him, placing the object in his hand. After the exchange, Paz jogged around the room and grabbed a black maker. She made her way back to the table and marked an 'X' on the map where Snake's current location could be. He was in Bosque del Alba near the Caribbean Coast in Costa Rica. There would be a lot of jungle terrain in the area, something Snake was probably a little too familiar with.

"I see some soldiers up ahead." Snake spoke.

"No doubt those are CIA mercs, they're probably all over the place. You've got to get past them undetected. You know the drill, avoid combat whenever possible. Make your way up to the compound. Call us if you need advice." Kaz lowered the codec.

Lydia sighed a few minutes later at the silence to break the anticipation. "This reminds me of when I was back in the States." Lydia dragged her hands down her face. "Déjà vu to the max here. I was part of the intel team on some mission and I was sitting behind a table waiting for Snake's update just like I am now."

"Soon we'll implement some high-tech of our own so we're not going in almost blind." Kaz gloated.

"That sounds good to me." Lydia cracked a smile.

"This is Snake…" Snake spoke over the speaker. "I've made it inside the compound. Security is tight. Making my way to the objective area."

"Stay sharp, Snake. Don't let your age catch up with you now." Lydia joked.

"Hnnnngh." Was the only thing he responded with. Lydia and Paz laughed out loud at his response as Kaz sighed.

About ten minuted had passed until Kaz's shoulders jumped with surprise. Lydia's head turned toward him as he pulled his codec out of his pocket. "Loud and clear. Looks like you found a radio!" Kaz spoke up. "Nice job. Let's switch frequencies from time to time - just to make sure we're no detected. This might be easier than using the codec." Kaz paused for a few moments. "Snake's codec broke in a struggle, but he was able to find a ra-" Kaz was cut off when he suddenly focused onto listening to Snake though his earpiece.

"Kaz, you're leading us blind here. What's happening?" Lydia asked. Kaz held up his hand for her to give him a moment.

"Nice going, Boss." Soon, the color began to drain from Kaz's face. Like he had heard that some childhood pet died. "…Film badges? Like the ones used to measure radiation exposure?" Lydia didn't like where this was going…no one bit.

"Radiation exposure?" Paz questioned. "Why would they need those?"

"Let's hope it's for something else other than what I'm thinking of." Film badges for radiation…could they be building some type of nuclear plant? Or worse…

Kaz only solidified her worries as she saw him clench his right fist with anger. "That would mean…" Kaz gulped. "Holy mother of God."

"Are they seriously thinking of bringing nukes into Costa Rica?" Lydia's hands started to shake. This could potentially be another Cuban Missile Crisis if word got out! What in the hell was the CIA thinking?!

Kaz sighed. "It looks like it. Snake said there was a monitor calling their cargo 'spears'." Spears...another term for nuclear warheads.

"Ahhh fuck me."


	35. Chapter 35

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise!**

 **Author's Note: Here is the next chapter! Thank you to everyone who subscribed to the story! I hope you enjoy! :3**

 **Guest K:** The conspiracy theories arise! lol I kinda thought I would get that reaction from someone lol! I won't tell you, but I will say that it's not life-changing :)

 **Guest:** You make me so excited! GZ, TPP, and the gap between are going to be QUITE the ride. I'm glad you're looking forward to it! Here's the next chapter! :3

* * *

 **"She's a Killer Queen**

 **Gunpowder, gelatine,**

 **Dynamite with a laser beam,**

 **Guaranteed to blow your mind.**

 **Anytime."**

 **-Queen**

* * *

 **November 10, 1974: 11:00**

The air was thick and full of dread at the news of the nuclear weapon transport into Costa Rica. It wasn't long until Gálvez made it into the room to push pause on the mood. He had spoken up about knowing some primary members from the Frente Sandinista de Liberación (FSLN). The FSLN was a social democratic political party based out of Nicaragua who retaliated against US occupation back in the 30s. Seems _Professor_ KGB had some more connections up his sleeve that the team didn't anticipate. Apparently, Gálvez has the lot of them on his side…using what tactics? The FSLN had secretly been funded by the KGB using all the drug money Lydia tried so hard to cease production of. Weapons, funds, money, and other resources were just donated to them out of thin air…just think if they were to figure out they were being backed by their own enemy.

In any case, Snake had agreed to meet with their commandante. Whatever the CIA is up to…it could change the world as they know it. It was time to put a stop to and spoil their plans. While Snake was in the field, he requested some productions; finally putting the R&D team to work with their first tasks. Nothing could bother them there on Mother Base, no government leash telling them what or what not to do. With no interruptions to work, Snake would receive better and faster aid on the battlefield…as Kaz put it…they "were going to turn this pile of junk into something big."

Within a few hours, Snake had been transported some pretty interesting items. Among his requests, he asked for the development of one item in particular…a cardboard box. Lydia chuckled at the idea. _A cardboard box, huh? Snake…you never change._

* * *

 ** _March 18, 1963_**

 _Lydia had just turned seventeen at the strike of midnight! She walked into the CIA base with a big smile on her face, getting her morning started just right. "Ah! Matthews!" She focused further down the hall to see Anderson making his way toward her with a toothy smile. "I found you! Snake wants to see you, he's in the tactical training area."_

 _"Oh?" Lydia rubbed her hands together. "I wonder what it would be for?" Surprise base party?! Well…no doubt Major would be in on it. She could see it now! A giant drunken party in the middle of the CIA base!_

 _"Hell if I know." Anderson interjected her farfetched thought. "Anyway, he looked pretty…antsy. You should probably go see him now otherwise a vein is gonna explode in his brain or something." Lydia nodded in suspicion and proceeded to make her way to the tactical training area. She opened the door and looked around the giant training room…no one was there._

 _"Was he playin' with me?" Lydia asked herself, stepping into the area. The training, or what they nicknamed it, the 'Kill Room' was something she had grown used to these past few months. There were intricate maze designs, spaces for hand-to-hand combat training, free-weights, rubber bullet guns for target practice and other cool goodies that aided in the education and precision of the CIA. Lydia sighed to herself at the empty room. "Jack? Hello?" She called out. Still no answer. "Ugh." She grunted loudly._

 _There was a faint sound that made its way into her eardrums, and it was approaching from behind! Some type of shuffle, like someone was sneaking up on her! "Got ya!" Lydia automatically took a defensive position and pivoted around on her left foot for a one-eighty degree turn. Not too far away, she noticed the appearance of a cardboard box. Was that there before? No doubt someone had just dropped it off or she didn't notice it before hand. Lydia turned back around to make her way deeper into the room before there was a metal object placed to the middle of her back. A gun. Lydia slowly brought up her hands in an innocent manner before attempting to turn around and disarm the perpetrator! Not only did they grab onto on of her wrists upon turning around, they swept her off her feet and twisted her around to land on the ground. Boot meets back, cheek meets floor. Classic Jack move._

 _"Jack?!" Lydia glared at him from the side. He let her go and took a step back, waiting for her to stand up._

 _"You didn't even see me."_

 _"Where the hell were you?" Lydia stood to her feet, massaging her left wrist with her right hand. He didn't turn away from her, only pointed to the cardboard box that she had spotted earlier. "You've GOT to be kidding me." Lydia sighed._

 _"Boxes are the ultimate form of stealth technology. Nobody suspects a thing." Lydia rolled her eyes. "You can do a lot more with a box than just hide under it, Lydia. It could save you from a life or death situation. Every soldier should have one. Including you."_

 _"So, what am I going to do with that thing? There must be a lesson behind it or something."_

 _"You're going to sneak up on me."_

 _"YOU'LL KNOW IT'S ME!"_

 _"I can pretend."_

 _"Ha! You? Pretend?" Lydia crossed her arms._

 _"That doesn't mean I'll go easy on you. If I see you moving in the box or if I hear anything suspicious, I'll investigate."_

 _"Sure." Lydia sighed and made her way to the box._

 _"I'll be in area three, you make your way over to me without getting spotted."_

 _"Got it." She approached the cardboard box. A cardboard box, tho? This was ridiculous! She lifted up the side and crouched down so it was over her head. She blinked a few times once she was fully covered in crouching position. It was surprisingly spacious. She kinda just wanted to sit there for a while because it was so calm! "I feel…safe?"_

* * *

 ** _November 10, 1974: 11:30_**

Snake had received some intel that the Sandinista group was being held captive at a boat house in Rio del Jade…not too far from his current location. It wasn't long until he radioed in. "Kaz, do you read me?"

"Yes Snake, go ahead?"

"What was this you just sent me? Is this a Fulton?"

"Ah, glad you got it! I'm glad their air-drop worked! Use the Fulton Recovery System to send us any troops you see fit. In the long run, it will really help us expand. Make sure not to bring back too many troops, we don't want to get over-crowded." Kaz added.

"Got it." Snake mumbled.

"Fulton? Nice thinking, Kaz."

"That's what I'm best at."

"Ehh, I can think of a few _other_ things." Lydia shrugged in a flirting manner.

"Oh really? What other things is he good at?" Paz interjected, asking as innocently as possible.

"Uhhh?" Lydia found herself in a bind. In the corner of the room, she saw Gálvez start to chuckle. Kaz was just standing there with his arms crossed, awaiting for her answer.

"Yeah? What _else_ am I best at, Lydia?"

"Handshakes!" She blurted out confidently, crossing her arms. "You are an excellent business man and have honed your hand-shaking skills for closing deals and…stuff." _NAILED IT._

"Oh wow!" Paz stood up from her chair. "Miller! Shake my hand!"

"Ha! It would be my pleasure." Lydia laughed to herself as Paz shook Kaz's hand in some form of over-exaggeration.

It wasn't until a little 13:00 when Kaz's Codec chimed. "MSF here." Kaz responded. "Acknowledged." Kaz made eye contact with Lydia, motioning for her to approach him. Lydia stood up from her chair and walked to him while he spoke though his codec again. "The mountains? You think that's where they're taking the nukes?" There was a short pause before the conversation was ended. "Lydia, we're going to take a trip to the helipad. Snake is sending us someone for recovery."

"Got it." Lydia nodded. "The both of you can wait here, if you'd like. No doubt one of us will be back." Lydia spoke to Gálvez and Paz.

"Yes ma'am!" Paz smiled.

Once out of the room, Kaz and Lydia made their way outside. "You know who he's sending us?"

"He didn't say. Must be someone important." Kaz shrugged.

"I'll give Raven a call." Lydia dialed into Raven's frequency. "Raven, do you read me?"

"Loud and clear, ma'am." He responded, as if he was waiting for her to call his whole life.

"I need you to come to the command platform right away. You're about to have a delivery."

"On my way. I'll bring two others with me. Do I need a stretcher?"

"That may be necessary, bring one just in case."

"Yes ma'am. Over and out." Lydia turned off her codec and kept her eyes on the horizon.

"Hey Kaz, how long does the Fulton recovery take?"

"Well it depends. I would say about an hour or so. The chopper should be in soon."

And he was right. About forty-five minutes passed before the Iroquois chopper that was gifted to MSF by Gálvez flew in. Raven and a team of two jogged to the chopper with the rolling stretcher. Lydia watched Raven crawl into the chopper and drape a woman over his shoulders. She looked like she was in pretty bad shape. Raven jumped out once he had a strong grip and had help from the other two men to place her on the comfort of the stretcher.

"Snake this is Lydia. We got her safe and sound. Raven is taking her to the med bay to fix her up."

"10/4." Snake replied though her ear-piece.

"Wow." Lydia heard Kaz breathlessly sigh as she was wheeled by them. It sounded like he was in a trance! Lydia didn't get a good look at her up close, but she could tell from the distance that she was a very attractive woman.

"What? See something you like?" Lydia raised an eyebrow and nudged him in the arm.

"W-wait! It wasn't like that!" kaz caught himself.

"I better be the one to greet her when she comes to. She wouldn't want to wake up to look at a _goon_ like you. You should check on Paz and Gálvez." Lydia held a straight face, the unknown feeling of jealousy showing blatantly through her words. Lydia followed Raven and the other two guys to the medical facility where they would work on the mysterious woman. _I wonder who she is._ Lydia thought as she sat outside of one of the operation rooms. It wasn't until 15:00 until Raven was done doing what he could to keep her stable. He waltzed out of the room, rubbing his palms together as if he had just washed his hands.

"She's stable. She was in pretty bad condition when she arrived. She fell a long way it looks like, her spinal cord was under a lot of stress. Any higher, and it might have broken."

"Wow, she lucked out." Lydia nodded her head.

"She's resting now. It might take a few days for her to recover. She's still knocked out from all the sedatives."

"Hell, I would be too." Lydia smiled. "Good job Raven, I'm glad we can count on you."

"Any time, Sub-C."

"I'll wait in the room until she wakes up. I know what it's like to wake in an unknown place, it's not the best experience in the world if you don't see a friendly face."

"Got it. I'll be in every now and then to check her vitals. Call me if you need anything."

"Yessir." Lydia patted him on the shoulder before she waltzed into the room. She was sleeping peacefully; laying in bed with her leg elevated into the air by a small hammock. Her clothes were folded neatly on a small table by the door. She was dressed in an operation robe and covered by a thick blanket for comfort. Kaz was right when he audibly complimented her beauty. She had an oval face with the perfect bone proportion for her face-type. Her brown, voluminous hair fell to her jaw line to accentuate her facial features. Even with her eyes closed, Lydia could only imagine how beautiful they would be when they opened.

At 17:00, there was a commotion going on out in the hall. It sounded like a little kid? Lydia stood up from the chair she had made herself comfortable in and made her way to the door. Upon opening it, someone had crashed right into her and ricocheted to the ground. "Ow!"

Lydia raised an eyebrow at the sight of a kid, about eleven or twelve. He was wearing a green hat to cover his brown hair. The beak of the hat was pushed to a different position on his head that only seemed to suit him…but Lydia couldn't see the tactical advantage of wearing a hat to the side like that. He was wearing dark green fatigues that resembled the folded ones that belonged to the woman. Same yellow ascot. _What is it with all of these yellow ascots?_ He had the same creamy skin as the woman sleeping in the bed behind her…their bone and facial features almost matching. Could this be a relative? Did Snake Fulton him over?

The kid rubbed his head and looked up at Lydia with his dark green eyes. "Hey, who are you? Why are you in my sister's room?"

"Lydia." Lydia simply responded. "I'm waiting here until your… _sister_ …wakes up." The resemblance was uncanny. Of course they were related!

"Is she ok?! Please tell me she's ok!"

"Whoa, whoa, calm down kid." Lydia bent her knees enough to look him in the eyes. "She's alright. Why don't you come on in? She'll be looking forward to seeing you when she wakes up. Why don't you tell me your name?"

"Chico." He sounded distracted, as if his mind was somewhere else.

"Alright Chico." Lydia stood up straight and unblocked the doorway. He nearly launched himself in the room and ran to the woman's side.

"I see he found out where they were keeping her." The familiar voice of Kaz snuck up on Lydia from down the hall. Lydia sighed and turned her attention to him. "Smart kid."

"He seems like a hard-head." She said loud enough for him to hear.

"Hey I heard that!" Chico shouted, partially offended. Lydia chuckled to herself and stepped the rest of the way out of the room. The door shut behind her as Kaz closed the distance.

"Any update?"

"Other than me missing you? Yeah." Kaz spoke. "Why did you dip out like that?"

"I told you already." Lydia sighed.

"You weren't jealous…were you?" Kaz lowered his head, looking at her through the top rim of his sunglasses.

"Jealous? No." Lydia lied. "Just as you said with Paz, I thought it might be helpful for her to see the face of another lady…but now with her brother here, I think everything should be just fine."

"Ah, I see." Kaz placed his hands on his hips. "I knew there wasn't a way you could be jealous."

"Correct." Lydia confirmed.

"I have to say, I like what we've been doing this past year. So there's nothing for you to worry about." Kaz spoke up.

"I don't think nows a good time to talk about this." Lydia sighed.

"Alright, alright." Kaz backed off. They never discussed a title to their 'relationship'. Hell, she didn't know if it was a _relationship_ in the first place. If anything, she would classify it as a mutually _beneficial_ friendship. Lydia and Kaz had feelings for each other, that was clear. But what kept him from sleeping with another woman or going to someone else? Lydia hadn't told Kaz her true feelings. She's realized she's loved the man for a while now…it was the fear of stating it. Her experience with Adam, although that was non sexual, always crept in her mind. If she said that she loved him…would that queue him to leave? She never really asked herself those questions until the mysterious woman made her appearance.

"What's wrong?" Kaz brushed a loose hair that had fallen out of her ponytail behind her hear. "Something on your mind?"

"Nah." She lied again. "Just wondering what that woman's name is."

"Amanda. Chico told me. Apparently, she's the leader of the Sandinistas…the ones that Gálvez was talking about."

"Oh, that makes sense."

"Snake told me there was a giant unmanned machine that captured Chico and did all of that damage to her."

"What? Really?" Lydia was shocked. "An unmanned machine? Where did it come from?"

"We're not so sure. The CIA has a lot of tricks up their sleeves to say the least." Kaz ran his fingers through his hair. "But anyway, Snake is on his way to Irazú. That's where they had taken he cargo. I advised him to rest on the way there. He'll probably make it close to the compound around 04:00 tomorrow morning."

"Right."

"And we got a few more guys in from Fulton recovery. Some of them were Sandinistas and the others were randoms. Some of them were a little uncooperative. We had to throw them in a brig below the command deck. I have Mosquito working on persuading them."

"Mosquito? Really?"

"Believe it or not, he's really good with persuasion. Snake made a good choice keeping him with the combat unit."

"Heh, that's good to hear. He has a short temper." Lydia recollected her trip back to Peru. "He probably uses that to his advantage." Lydia almost wanted to laugh at how he frequently was was raged by the simplest things.

"Did she wake up?" Kaz changed the subject.

"She? Oh her? No, she's still passed out. Raven says she had barely survived a fall. Her spine was nearly broken…she lucked out." Lydia reported.

"Let's hope she makes a speedy recovery. We should check in to see if Chico had the balls to wake her."

"Good idea." Lydia nodded. The both of them emerged into the room, Chico beaming with happiness. In the bed, it looked as if the woman was stirring from her slumber. "Just in time." Lydia spoke. She pulled out her codec and dialed into Raven. "Raven, she's awake."

"Understood. On my way." Raven responded.

"Uhhh, where am I? Chico? Is that you?!" Her bright green eyes widened right away at the sight of her younger brother.

"Yes it's me!" Chico grappled onto his sister's hand. "Snake got me out!"

"Snake? Heh, he actually did it." She weakly smiled.

"Glad you're awake. You've been out for a while." Lydia spoke up. "I'm Lydia Matthews. MSF's Sub-Commander. You're on our Mother Base."

"And I'm Kazuhira Miller, also Commander here on Mother Base."

"I made it to the heaven he was talking about." The woman smiled, patting Chico on the head. "I'm Amanda…this is my brother Chico. Did Snake find my other compas?"

"He found some of them…they're here on Mother Base, also in recovery." Kaz responded.

"Ahh, we made it." Amanda sighed, resting her back and head against her pillow. "Soon I'll be ready to help."

"Not any time soon." Raven walked in. "You better think twice about that and your broken leg."

"Maybe she's like me and heals fast?" Kaz shrugged.

"Don't worry, I'll be up and of use to you in no time." Amanda smiled, holding a thumbs-up with her free hand.

"You're pretty determined." Lydia crossed her arms. "No wonder Snake brought you over. I can see why he likes you."

"As long as your determined to get better and not go anywhere else, that is." Raven butted in, standing on the side of the bed that Chico wasn't on. "Doctor's orders."

"You're right, it's not use. I can't move now but you can't keep me locked in here forever."

"Mhmm." Raven hummed, writing some stuff down onto a piece of paper attached to a clip-board. "Say that _after_ your meds wear off."


	36. Chapter 36

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise!**

 **Author's Note: Thank you for your patience everyone, I'm back in town with access to my computer! Here is the next chapter, I would call this one a filler :) Enjoy! :3**

 **Mature Content Warning: Violence**

* * *

 **"I can't stop this feeling,**

 **Deep inside of me.**

 **Girl, you just don'e realize,**

 **What you do to me.**

 **When you hold me,**

 **In your arms so tight,**

 **You let me know,  
**

 **Everything's all right."**

 **-Blue Swede**

* * *

 **November 12, 1974: ?:?**

 _Blood soaked into Lydia's skin the more she crawled through the dirt. Her ears ringing and echoing the sounds of multiple explosions, pops, whistles, screams…they all blended together as if the conundrum of chaos wanted to take over every sense still left in her body. Her arms and legs were digging further into the ground the more she crawled away._

 _But from what? What was driving her to go? Her heart beat was only ticking faster as Lydia's head turned behind her. "What are you crawling away from?" The voice was familiar, calming her ears from ahead. She shut her eyes in memory as her head turned to face the man who was standing before her. There was someone that came to mind, but not who she had received in return. A decapitated head fell into view. Blood splashing on her face. The foreign noises had returned, diverse and rapid as could be._

 _Her breath hitched, she wanted to throw up at the sight of the severed neck. Blood gushing from its exposed flesh. Before she could stand up, a strong pressure collapsed on her back. "I said, what are you crawling away from?" The voice was more agitated…different this time. The voice of a monster from the past. His snicker only struck her with the fear of a thousand men while she was crushed further into the ground._

 _She wanted to yell out…she couldn't speak. Her right hand reached for the head. Before her fingers could touch it it was picked up. Before her were familiar black boots with fancy engravings…almost filled in by the amount of dirt that was caked on them. The silver spurs rattled, dimming the other various sounds. "Hmmm. What do we have here, a trapped mouse?"_

 _"_ _Adam." The name fell from her lips before she could see him._

 _"_ _What did you call me?" He was looking at the face of the head he held in his hands. "I don't see an Adam here. Do you?" He asked he head. He took it by it's hair and unveiled the face. Kaz. His lifeless eyes were rolled to the top of his head, his mouth hanging open with blood dripping out of every orifice that remained._

 _"_ _No." Anger welled up within her, but she still couldn't move._

 _"_ _Now why don't you sleep with your lover?" Adam underhanded the head so it collided with her face. "Do it." The next noise was a prominent bang that would surely be the end of her._

* * *

The moment Lydia's eyes shot open, her eyes focused on the time. 02:00. Lydia turned in her bed after sighing. Next to her was the sleeping Kaz, his back facing her. _At least he's not beheaded. What kind of fucked up nightmare was that?_ Lydia quietly moved herself toward him and rested her forehead against his back, careful not to wake him up. His bare skin was cold, making her just want to roll all over him.

She wanted to go back to sleep, but she didn't want the dream to continue. She laid against him for what seemed like hours before she couldn't stand it anymore. _I've gotta go somewhere._ Lydia crawled slowly out of her bed. She dressed herself in her casual combat attire and stepped out of the room. She descended down the stairs until she was finally outside. The cool night-time air instantly gave her goosebumps. The deck was lit up by a few lights, but the moon trumped out all of them. Coffee was the first thing that flooded her mind once she inhaled the scent of the salty breeze. _Coffee sounds damn good right now._

Lydia took a few steps out on deck until she caught a patrol in her peripherals. Still sluggish, Lydia made her way over to the three men that conjured together. "Good morning."

"Oh! Sub-C!" They were all startled. "It's 03:00 what are you doing up so early?!"

"Couldn't sleep." She responded, shrugging her shoulders. "I'm going to run to the mess hall and make some coffee. Any of you want some?"

"Nah I'll pass."

"I'm good."

"Are you guys crazy?" The man who initially spoke with her questioned the sanity of the other two. His code-name was etched as Dolphin. "Sub-C used to be a barista. It would be an insult to turn down her coffee!"

"Whoa, are you serious?! Really Sub-C?"

"Ummm…"

"We're sorry ma'am. We'll take a cup of coffee!"

"Whatever you say." Lydia shrugged, just letting them think for themselves. "Be right back." Lydia walked off toward the mess hall. After retrieving four black coffees, she returned to the deck with all four cups on a plastic tray. "Here you go."

"Thank you ma'am!"

"Ahh the warmness feels so good!"

"Warmness?"

"Don't mention it." Lydia smiled as the three men took their drinks. She placed the tray comfortable under her right armpit as she walked away from the group with her hot coffee in hand. She waltzed over to the edge of the platform that was closest to the housing and sat. She placed her coffee down next to her and let her legs hang off the edge. _If someone wanted to get rid of me, now would be the perfect time._ She shook her head and picked up her coffee.

"Sub-C?" A familiar voice called out from behind her. "It's odd to see you up this early." Raven.

"Raven." Lydia greeted. "Mornin'. You're not here to get rid of me, are you?" She joked.

"Not this time, although this would be the perfect opportunity. Mind if I join you?"

"No, go right ahead." Lydia nodded her head to the spot next to her as she returned her gaze to the dark ocean.

"Getting enough sleep?" Raven asked out of nowhere.

"Are you turning this into an appointment? I haven't had enough coffee for that yet."

"I just noticed the dark circles under your eyes and the paleness of your skin. That's all." He smiled to himself.

"Good observation, that's why you're the lead." Lydia took another sip of coffee. "How's that…uhh…Amanda? How's she doing?" Lydia changed the subject.

"She's healing fairly well, but it's a fight to get her to stay in her damn bed. Although, I have to say I admire her willingness to move forward and help out."

"She seemed very active." Lydia agreed. "I wonder what she can bring to the team once she's all better."

"Same. Her presence could peak up the morale of some of our men. No offense, but we like to see women around base."

"No, no, I get it." Lydia took a sip of her coffee. "You know Raven…Going back to the sleep thing..."

"Hm?"

Lydia took in a deep breath and continued to stare into the ocean. "I had one hell of a nightmare. It had people that hadn't been in my life for quite some time."

"PTSD shows its face in many forms." Raven nodded at Lydia's willingness to share. "You're not stuck in that dream and whoever was out to get you isn't out to get you now."

Lydia sighed. "Yeah. We have a lot at stake. It might just be for stress."

"No doubt. You should go back and get some rest." Raven sounded sincere.

"Not with coffee in my system." Lydia chuckled to herself, moving her grip in a circle so she could swirl the coffee contained in the cup.

"Alright. I've got to get back. I started early today because I knew Miss Amanda was going to be a handful." Raven stood up from his seated position. "Good luck."

After wishing her well he walked off to the medical platform. Lydia only sighed and looked back at the never-ending ocean. After eventually finishing her coffee, she found herself in the kill room the R&D team had finished the night before. It was built with a tactical simulator as well as a firing range; the perfect training area. With a pistol in hand, she fired away at the dull target stationed before her.

Lethal shot after lethal shot, the bullet holes all started to blend together. Something felt amiss. Was it because of the nightmare? Or was something else on her mind? As she wasted the bullets there was a ringing that penetrated her eardrums. Someone was giving her a call on her radio. Lydia placed the pistol down and received the transmission. "This is Matthews, over."

"Iris, good." It was Snake…it was nearly 06:00 and he didn't sound tired at all. "Listen, I'm going to be sending the team another member. He has vital information about the nukes and enemies we're dealing with. Once he arrives, be sure to give him a warm welcome."

"Got it."

"And one more thing. I got wind that there was an armored vehicle unit headed to increase security over to a lab I'm en route to. I need you to gather some men and head out there before they arrive."

"Got any intel where they're at?"

"They're about one-hundred miles west of Puerto del Alba. That's all I've got."

"I'll ask Paz about the area when I get the chance. I'll get right on it, you can count on me, Snake. Over and out."

"Over and out."

He was so simple to talk to. Nothing shook Snake, nothing at all. With the threat of World War III on their shoulders, it seemed he would be a little shaken by something…that just wasn't his character. Lydia stretched her arms and walked up the flight of stairs that led out of the kill room and onto the deck of mother-base. She assembled four men and briefed them of their future task. "The Boss needs us. Make sure we pack Morpho with everything we need." Lydia ordered out. "We cannot fail this mission."

"Yes ma'am!"

"Lydia!" The voice of Kaz rang out to her. "What's going on?" He jogged up and stood in front of her.

"Snake is sending me out on a mission. There's an armored vehicle unit headed to his next objective. It might compromise his efforts if it arrives." Lydia frowned. Kaz grabbed a hold of her right arm and pulled her close to him.

"Can I speak with you, alone?" He led her away fro the four men stationed to go until they were far enough to not be heard. "So you're just going to leave without telling me?"

"Welcome to my world." Lydia spoke back, with more attitude than she had intended. What was with that? She still must be feeling off from the nightmare. Or maybe the lack of sleep…maybe both?

"Welcome to…" Kaz let go of her arm. "Look Lydia, if this is about us then-"

"I didn't _say_ it was about _anything_ , Kaz. I'm doing my job."

"It's not just 'doing your job' to me, ok?" He half-snapped. He exhaled loudly then ran his right hand through his long hair. Lydia's heart nearly skipped a beat. "I don't know what I'm saying."

"I-I have to get ready." Lydia didn't know what to say either. She nearly bolted back to her living quarters. Once inside, she changed into a dark green garb with a brown harness. To her surprise, the door slid open after strapping on her harness.

"Hey." Kaz. _Who else would it be?_ Lydia sighed once he stepped in the door and took her by her shoulders. He turned her around to face him. "I couldn't just let you leave like that." She wanted to say something, she just didn't know what. He removed one of his hands from her and moved his sunglasses to the top of his head. "Why don't you tell me what's going on in that head of yours, huh?"

Lydia huffed like a child, that made Kaz chuckle. "Kaz I gotta go, this mission is important."

"It can wait for two minutes." He pressed.

"Fine." Lydia sighed. "I had a nightmare. First one in a while. It wasn't a flashback…it was different."

"How?"

"You were in it." Lydia frowned. "You were in it, and your decapitated head was thrown in my face by Ocelot. Volgen…he pinned me down. I couldn't move. It was…"

"Hey, I'm here." Kaz pulled her into an embrace she didn't know she needed. "I'm not dead, those two aren't here and they're no threat. They're long gone, alright?" Lydia exhaled shakily.

"I can't believe this."

"I'm in one piece." Kaz pulled himself back and slipped his right hand under her chin. "Lydia, nothing like that is gonna happen to me. You hear me? I've got both my legs, both my arms, and a perfectly good dick you could come back to. I'm not going anywhere…and neither is my head."

"Good." Lydia sighed in relief. Kaz slightly tilted up her chin and dipped down, catching her lips with his own. She instantly gave in, shutting her eyes. Kaz parted from the soft kiss with a small smile running across his face. "Now I'll let you go. Keep your comms on."

"Yes sir." Lydia nodded. Kaz stood back from the doorway allowing her to walk out on her own. Kaz didn't follow her to her surprise. Lydia found her way to Morpho, waiting patiently for her arrival. The four other men were sitting inside as well. "Sorry about that guys. I'm here!"

"Welcome aboard ma'am!" Morpho called out from the pilot seat. "Strap on in and we'll head on out."

"You got it!" Lydia sat down and buckled herself in.

"This is Morpho, departing Mother-Base." Lydia sat back in her chair and sighed, looking at the other men who appeared equally as bored. "It'll be a few hours before we arrive, make yourselves comfortable. We're gonna fly in soft." Lydia held a thumbs up and rested the back of her head against the metal behind her. No telling what armored unit was making their way across the jungle...it was only a matter of time.


	37. Chapter 37

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise!**

 **Author's Note: Here is the next chapter! Enjoy! I feel like doing multiple chapter uploads this week solely because I was away from my computer for so long. Next anticipated will stay on schedule for 4/24 but there may be another update soon. Stay tuned! :3**

 **Guest K:** Yep! Finally back in town and near my computer! Hopefully no more curveballs throw themselves at me that cause me to travel! lmao. :) Glad you enjoyed the last chapter; here is the new one! :)

 ****Mature Content Warning : Violence and sexual themes**

* * *

 **"When I die and they lay me to rest,**

 **Gonna go to the place that's the best.**

 **When I lay me down to die,**

 **Goin' up to the spirit in the sky.**

 **That's where I'm gonna go when I die.**

 **When I die and they lay me to rest,**

 **Gonna go to the place that's the best."**

 **-Norman Greenbaum**

* * *

 **November 12, 1974: 11:45**

"Damn, it sure is humid out here." Lydia adjusted the collar of her shirt. "I've been in a few jungles and this is by far the _worst_." Morpho had landed a few miles North-West of Puerto del Alba where the enemy squad had last been seen. The jungle was thick and dense. Giant bugs were coasting around having a grand 'ol time being annoying. Their buzzing blended in with the harmonious chirping of birds. Tagging along behind her were the soldiers she got to know a little bit on the ride over. Killifish, he was more on the tan side and probably in his mid thirties. His face was a perfect fit for the mustache-beard combination he sported with graying dark brown hair. Bald Eagle, he used to be a boxer in the States but was longing for something a little different when he decided to join MSF. He was about to enter his forties had the most fantastic curled mustache that reminded her of some kind of ironic southern cowboy. Bald Eagle was easily the largest of the four men with biceps almost as big as Lydia's head.

"Home sounds like a paradise right now." Sounded off Caracal, the pretty boy. He had long brown hair that made up for the two other bald members in the group. Mid twenties, a little on the scrawny-side, but good with a gun.

"If you're no good with jungles, why the hell did you come out here in the first place?" Catfish, the fourth member of the group retorted back. He had a fancy trimmed-up beard with his red hair styled in a pompadour. He was slim but was toned with muscle; looked like he may had been some kind of sports enthusiast before MSF.

"Why would I give up the chance to work with the Sub-C?" Caracal responded.

"I'm not Sub-C on the field." Lydia inserted herself into the argument. "Refer to me by Iris." Lydia dodged a large tree branch.

"Iris…alright then. Let me know if your feet get tired. I'll be happy to carry you." Caracal flirted. Lydia just rolled her eyes staying ahead of the crew.

"Like you could carry her with your _puny_ muscles." Bald Eagle retorted. Lydia had to keep in her laughter as the others busted a gut. "Best to let a _man_ handle that job."

"Well excuse the fuck out of you." Caracal annoyingly spat. Lydia stopped in her tracks and turned to the men walking behind her.

"Excuse the fuck out of me? Never heard that term before. Nonetheless, I've got plenty of fuck in me that I don't want to excuse. Especially around such a dame."

"Dame? Seriously, get with the times, man."

"Alright, alright. That's enough. Keep your minds on the mission at hand. I'm fully capable of walking, thank you." Lydia split up the verbal fight.

"Respect our Sub-C, will ya?" Killifish crossed his arms. "We didn't sign up for this mission to get laid. The Boss needs us."

"Exactly." Lydia agreed. "If your heads aren't in this mission, we're bound to fail. We need to work as a team."

"Yes ma'am." Bald Eagle saluted.

"Understood." Caracal sighed.

"Good. Now keep your mouths shut and keep an ear out for the enemy. They could be anywhere. I'm going to give Paz a call, she know a lot about the area. She might have an idea to where they might be headed." Lydia pulled out her radio. "I'll keep the lead, men, stagger your positions, we're too close-knit."

"Yes ma'am." They saluted, splitting up a few yards around Lydia.

Lydia dialed into Paz's frequency Morpho had extended to her on the ride over. "Paz? Paz do you read me?"

"Oooo Lydia? It's so good to hear your voice!" She sounded adorable over comms. Her voice was so high-pitched. "How can I be of assistance?"

"Tell me about the forest, what am I headed into?"

"Well, Costa Rica's forests are more diverse than you might expect."

"Got that right. Exceeded my expectations that's for sure. We're a few hundred miles inland from the coast."

"The lowlands that you are in, is mostly covered by hot, humid tropical rain forests. There are so many mountainous areas that the forests tend to change. The high trees in your area block out the sun, almost making it impossible for plants to grow beneath them…but it's very dark so be careful."

"Yeah, I figured that. I feel like I'm watching where I'm stepping so I don't land on something dangerous."

"The forest would be an excellent place to hide traps, too. Make sure to watch out for those as well."

"Heh, traps in forests…takes me back." Lydia chuckled to herself.

"Have you been trapped before?" Paz asked, she didn't sound concerned…just curious.

"Ask Commander Miller." Lydia smiled to herself. "He'll tell you all about it." Lydia paused as Paz let out a forced giggle that sounded a little out of character. _Huh?_ "Well, in any case, thanks for the info Paz. I'll keep an eye out. Over and out." Lydia tuned down her radio.

"What'd you find out?" Catfish called.

"Watch out for traps. The poor visibility makes it a perfect spot for the enemy to know we're coming."

"Got it!"

"Let me know immediately if you see any!"

"Yes ma'am!" They had been walking for hours, taking some breaks to drink out of their water canisters and snack on some Calorie Mates. It sure was a lively group; they didn't get tired easily.

It was a few more hours of walking until Caracal jogged up beside Lydia. "I don't get it."

"Don't get what?"

"How could someone like you end up in a place like this?"

"Someone like me? You're pushing your boundaries Caracal." Lydia plainly stated.

"I mean, you're so beautiful. You're so _fragile_ …you don't belong in a world like this."

"You don't know a thing about me." Lydia kept walking, keeping her answers straight.

"I can know a few things."

"I can let you know that you're going to blow our cover. Return to your position, Caracal. Now." She sounded irritated, which sent him backing up right away. _Jesus Christ._ Her eyes nearly rolled far back enough to see her own insides. The next few miles were boring as hell and grew colder the more time passed.

Through the dense leaves, Lydia could see the sun was setting beyond the horizon. A pinkish hue covered what little sky she could see. The ground below her suddenly started to gently quake beneath her. Vehicles were approaching…a trail must be nearby. Lydia held up her right hand and signaled the men to form around her. "Do you feel that? We're getting close."

"Right on time."

"Exactly. We'll have the cover of night to take them by surprise." Lydia nodded. "Killifish, Bald Eagle…you guys have the charges?"

"Yes ma'am." They nodded.

"Alright. The route their taking has to be nearby, by the vibrations, I'm guessing to our west. Let's stay on their trail. They have to be stopping to camp soon. You know what to do when we get there. Let's move out."

They remained on the trail of the patrol unit for a few more miles. Just to Lydia's liking, they stopped to make camp. Taking cover in the dense forest that surrounded the trail, Lydia and her crew filed themselves behind cover until the targets were settled in.

Armored vehicle transport was right. Two cargo trucks and two tanks in the front and rear. Whatever they were transporting has to be important. No doubt they were weapons. About half an hour passed before the group was quiet from chatter. The lights were still blaring from the tanks and jeeps…probably on the look out for intruders. Lydia turned her body to face Killifish and Caracal to her right. She motioned for them to take the tank in the front. She ordered Bald Eagle and Catfish to take on the tank covering the rear. It was Lydia's job to disarm the trucks and soldiers in the middle. "Roll out." Lydia motioned her hand for the mission to commence.

Staying low, Lydia surfaced from the cover of the trees and rolled between the two cargo trucks before the tank's head from behind could turn and spot her. She moved into a prone position and crawled her way under the cargo truck that was second-to-last in line. She positioned herself under the truck, looking for the fuel-line. _Ahhh shit, I don't know cars._ She took her radio our of one of her pockets and dialed to Kaz's frequency. "Kaz?" She whispered, placing the radio back in her pocket. "Kaz you there?"

"Lydia? Is that you? Why are you so quiet."

"Not now. What does the fuel line in a cargo truck look like?"

"Usually they're the clearest-looking ones." Lydia looked around, finding a tube that matched the description.

"Found it." She took out her utility knife and grabbed a hold of the plastic-like tube. She cut it and let the gasoline waterfall to the dirt below. In the background of her ear piece, she couldn't help but hear the voice of a woman! It wasn't Paz or Amanda…not the right accent. She almost sounded French. "Kaz, who is that?"

"Oh!" He sounded nervous, like he had been caught doing something. "You just heard our newest recruit, Cécile. She was the ornithologist that was held captive after accidentally recording that tape from Gálvez. It's good Snake found her in time, she had just managed to escape the facility."

"I'll make sure to introduce myself when I get back." Lydia whispered as she started to crawl toward the second truck.

"That's IF you get back!" A foreign voice yelled out. Someone latched onto her ankle and started to drag her out from under the vehicle.

"Shit!" Lydia cursed.

"Lydia! Lydia?! What's wrong?!" Kaz echoed through her ears. She could hear the shuffling of more footsteps surrounding the vehicle. She kicked her other leg into the hand of the man that had apprehended her. He abruptly dropped her leg, allowing her to roll back to the middle of the truck. She sheathed her knife then her right hand went to her pistol…but she stopped before she could wrap her fingers around the hilt. If she were to fire her gun now, she's be done fore.

"Perfect fucking timing." She cursed to herself.

"Lydia, what's happening?!" She ignored Kaz in her ear. Then, there was an explosion. It wasn't one of the tanks firing, Killifish must've detonated the charges to the tank in the front to cause a distraction. Lydia flinched and swiftly crawled out the front-end of the truck, away from the tank that was still active. She maneuvered under the second truck, it seemed they had stopped paying attention to her. She rolled onto her back when under the new truck, she could feel the heat of the explosion radiating from the tank ahead of her. She took out her knife one more time and cut the line that fed gasoline into the truck.

Keeping her knife in her right hand, Lydia checked her surroundings. "Come out! I know you're here somewhere!" A man shouted. "We have your friends, come out or else!"

 _Fuck._ Lydia thought to herself. _I refuse to let my men be hostages._ Lydia holstered her knife and gripped her pistol. To her left, there were no soldiers stationed. She crawled out from underneath the vehicle and vaulted into cover behind the closest tree. She distanced herself enough to still hear what was going on. "Lydia tal-" She couldn't listen to Kaz at this moment, she pulled out her ear plug and stuffed it into one of her pockets.

Lydia took out her knife again with her left hand and raised the blade into view. She tilted it to examine the surrounding area behind her. In the reflection, she saw Bald Eagle and Catfish on their knees with four armed hostiles behind them. _If only I could cause a distraction so they can use CQC._ Lydia bit her lip and closed her eyes. _If I do something, they only have one chance._ She peered over her left shoulder to determine how far away they were. Good five meters or so. Lydia reholstered her knife and sighed. _I'm not getting anywhere with that tank still active._ _Think Lydia. Think._

Lydia began to pat down her tactical harness pockets, remembering the items that she brought. She felt a frag in her right hip pocket. She dug into the small pack and held the explosive in her hand. _If they planted the charges, this could take out the tank and give them a window to escape…but if they didn't I risk killing them…and myself._ Lydia frowned. _Is it worth it?_ She fondled the grenade in her hand, feeling its rough surface. _I guess I'll just have to chance it._

Lydia took in a deep breath and brought her right hand to her left, pulling the pin out from the grenade. She removed herself from cover, exposing herself to the enemy. "Hostile spotted!" One of them shouted, readying their gun. Shots began to fire and whistle all around her. Lydia tossed the grenade under the tank, the area of effect should trigger the charges if they were placed. Her eyes instantly focused on Bald Eagle and Catfish who had stood up and began to throw down the four hostiles that stood behind them using consecutive CQC now that they were distracted. "Get outta there!" Lydia shouted to her comrades over the gunfire. The grenade was going to blow any second!

From the sight of her comrades safely making it away from the danger zone, the tank head had swirled around and aimed its cannon right at Lydia. She was staring into the black barrel of the rolling death-machine. "Ahh fuck." Lydia vaulted herself out of its line of sight just before it fired a blast in her direction. The loud explosion was heard next, simultaneously as the cannon shell hit the ground. The tank was up in flames! They did it! Dirt fell from the sky at the impact from the blast.

"Iris! Iris! Are you ok?!" Catfish called out.

"Y-yeah!" She shakily shouted from the adrenaline coursing in her body. She stood up from her prone position and dusted off her uniform. "I'm over here!" There was a small crater about five feet from her, definitely woulda been done for.

"Everyone's down! No hostiles!" She heard Bald Eagle announce. Lydia revealed herself and couldn't help but laugh at the sight of her four buddies across the road.

"You lucky bastards." She shook her head, wearing a big smile. She waltzed up to the men sprawled out on the dirt road. "I'm _so_ happy you set those charges. Mission accomplished."

"We fucking did it." Catfish sighed with relief.

"Someone call Morpho, we're taking these guys back with us." Lydia opened the pocket she stuffed her ear-piece in and lodged it back into her ear. "Kaz, can you read me?"

"Lydia?!" He sounded like a mess. "All I could hear was gunfire and explosions! What the hell happened?!"

"Long story, but mission complete." She nodded at her team.

"Glad to hear you're alright. There's something I have to tell you. You need to come back to base right away."

"What is it?" Lydia pressed on.

"I'll just tell you when you get here." He said nonchalantly. "Oh, and Snake is back by the way. I told you about Cécile before I lost contact, right? Well he came back with her. He's going to be using the next few days to rest up before continuing onward. We have another recruit that says he still has some time."

"Sounds good." Lydia smiled to herself.

"Holy shit." Caracal gasped. "Iris, come look at this." Lydia turned her body to see the men standing outside of one of the cargo trucks, looking inside the covered trunk.

"What is it?" Lydia asked, moving closer to the men. Lydia squeezed in-between the men and peered inside the vehicle. A mountain of packed guns, grenades, and other weapons were piled neatly in boxes. "You've got to be shitting me."

"Looks like we hit the jackpot." Killifish chucked. "Let's load all this out." Lydia and the men worked to load all of the cargo out of the trucks and onto the dirt road.

Lydia radioed to Morpho to check on his position when they were done. "Hey morpho, you have any room for a few crates?"

"Ehhhh depends on the size of them ma'am." He responded.

"Good answer. I'm gonna call for another chopper."

"I radio one in for you. Same LZ?"

"You got it." Lydia confirmed. "Alright team. I need one volunteer to stay here until the next chopper. We're taking these supplies back to Mother Base."

"I'll do it." Bald Eagle stepped forward.

"Alright Bald Eagle. Keep your comms on and stay in contact." Lydia nodded. It wasn't too long after that when Morpho touched down. They piled the four new recruits into the chopper before hopping in themselves and strapping in. "That was a close call, you guys."

"It sure was. Thank you for your swift actions, Sub-C."

"I'm not going to lie saying I was acting on a whim. I'm just happy you planted those charges. Just one grenade wouldn't have destroyed that tank."

"You almost took a cannon to the face for us."

"Heh, yeah." She frowned. "I hope you learn from this experience how south a mission can go so fast. Espionage is important to get in and out of mission without being detected and without the enemy knowing we're coming."

"Yes ma'am."

"But other than our little hiccup, it was a mission success. And that's all that matters. We probably saved Snake tons of time putting a delay in their defenses. The sabotage made it look like it was from some looters or something. Nothing they would suspect from someone's that's been on their tail."

"Improvise for the win." Killifish held a thumbs up.

"Improvise for the win." Lydia repeated, holding up the same gesture.

* * *

 **November 13, 1974: 02:00**

Lydia and the gang arrived back on Mother Base with no further issues. It was a smooth ride over. Killifish and Catfish rounded up the four men who were regaining consciousness and took them to the base's holding brig. Lydia inhaled the oceanic air and let out a sigh. "Goodnight boys, see you around. Rest up."

"Thank you ma'am." Killifish responded before walking away.

"Sub-C?" The voice of Caracal stayed behind. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head before she turned to face him.

"Caracal, I was not a fan of your behavior on our mission. You were jeopardizing the team and lowering morale. In an important mission like that, there is no time for squabble or shenanigans. Take this mission as your first warning. If you harass me or the staff again, considered yourself discharged, yeah?"

"Yes ma'am." Caracal frowned at the punishment, expecting to get something else out of approaching her.

Lydia shook her arms at her sides before walking to her living quarters. She didn't get too far before she overheard a conversation. "Did you hear Commander Miller convinced Boss to put a sauna on Mother Base?"

"Seriously? That honestly sounds like a hassle. More stuff to clean. I mean…we just finished scarping off bird shit, too!"

"Yeah you're right about that. But it's gotta be good for the soul tho, right?"

"Have you seen any of the new girls?! Ahhh Paz, Amanda, and Cécile. There's a few other soldiers like us, too. Swan, Robin, Elephant, and a few others, too!"

"I'm starting to like all these girls getting recruited! The Boss has the right thing in mind!" Lydia rolled her eyes at the small-talk and continued on her journey to her bed. She unlocked her room and waltzed in, surprisingly finding an empty bed.

"Hmmm." She hummed to herself and shrugged. After getting ready for the night, shower and all, Lydia collapsed her back on the bed. Her eyes stared up at the dark ceiling. She closed her eyes and saw the large cannon barrel in front of her. In a panic, she opened her eyes and looked around the room. "Jeez." Lydia groaned. _I coulda died back there._ Lydia frowned. She almost felt…regret. Or was it sadness? Emptiness? There was no fulfillment that the mission was complete. Sure, it was a relief…but she walked away with something else. She could have _died._ Lydia folded her forearms over her eyes. _I could have died…and he wouldn't have known that I love him._


	38. Chapter 38

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise!**

 **Author's Note: Alright, alright, this is my last update for the week. I'll see you guys on Monday :) Enjoy! :3 OMG RIGHT WHEN I WAS ABOUT TO UPDATE I'M ALMOST TO 40 CHAPTERS. HOLY HELL.**

 **Guest K:** OMG LMAO. HIDE ELI, HIDE x'D

 **Guest** : Kept you waiting, huh?! Glad to be back :) I was dying not being able to update! OMG I'm so excited for the sauna ;)

 ****Mature Content Warning: Sexual themes**

* * *

 **"Say, Candy and Ronnie, have you seen them yet?**

 **Oh but they're so spaced out, B-B-B-Bennie and the Jets.**

 **Oh but they're wits and they're wonderful.**

 **Oh Bennie she's really keen,**

 **She's got electric boots a mohair suit,**

 **You know I read it in a magazine.**

 **B-B-B-Bennie and the Jets."**

 **-Elton John**

* * *

 **November 13, 1974: 09:00**

Lydia opened her eyes that automatically fell on the clock sitting adjacent to her bed. _Ugh, I slept in. I'm surprised no one woke me up._ Lydia swung her legs over the side of the bed. She rubbed her dry eyes and raised her half-naked body from the bed. As she got ready for the day, her radio finally blared. She picked it up from the small bed-side table and turned it to receive. "This is Lydia."

"Good morning Sub-C." It was Raven. "I heard through the grapevine that you were back. When you have to opportunity, can you come to the medical bay?"

"Yeah, I'll be there in a flash. Just waking up."

"Alright. See you soon. Over and out."

"Over and out." Lydia stretched her arms out to her sides. She threw on some khaki pants with a black long-sleeved shirt. She pulled up the sleeves just under her elbows. After stuffing the radio into one of her pant pockets, she was out. Once descending to deck Lydia made her way to the mess hall. At one of the tables, she spotted Paz sitting with Amanda and another girl. She had long, straight blonde hair that was held away from her face with a large bandana. No doubt she was beautiful if she were to get a good look at her face. Lydia's eyes floated to Amanda who was sporting her cast on her broken leg…a little surprised she could actually get up and move even after two days of bed-rest. Raven couldn't keep her down for long!

"Ooo Lydia!" Paz spotted her. She held up her arm and waved for Lydia to come over to the table.

"Let me grab some food, I'll be right over." Lydia waved with her response. Lydia moved over to one of the cooks.

"What can I get for ya Sub-C?" He greeted.

"Just a PPJ."

"Coming right up." The chef made the glorious sandwich and handed it to her on a plastic tray. Her next stop was the coffee machine that looked like it had just been brewed.

"Score." She grabbed a mug and filled it with the delicious dark liquid. With no hesitation after the mug was filled, she made her way to the table of females. "Good morning." She placed down her food and mug next to Paz and across fro the new girl.

"A good morning it is." Amanda took a sip of some coffee.

"Good to see you up and out of bed, Amanda. You sure do heal fast."

"You're…Lydia, right? The SubCommander?" She brushed her brown hair back with her right hand.

"I am." She nodded then looked over to the new blonde. Her eyes were a beautiful sky-blue that only framed her perfectly proportioned face. She had high cheekbones with slender features. If there was a word that described her beauty…breathtaking would sum it up. "And you must be Cécile. Kaz was telling me you had just arrived."

"Oui!" She confirmed with a smile. "Monsuier Miller is _quite_ the…" She paused, almost like she couldn't think of a word.

"I could only imagine the word you're going to say." Lydia chuckled to herself. "How are the three of you enjoying Mother Base so far?"

"Ah, out here is heaven compared to living in the mountains constantly being on the run from la Guardia or mercenaries. That medic, Raven, has taken such good care of me since Snake saved me from el colibri. I will be assigned to the combat unit soon; pull my own weight and return the favor." Amanda started. "Chico is enjoying life here too, too." Lydia took a bite out of her sandwich, slowly savoring the taste.

"I think it is wonderful!" Cécile clapped her hands together with a smile. "There are so many birds that fly overhead and come to visit! Albatross, terns, tropicbirds…all the seabirds I'd never have a chance to see in France!"

Lydia nodded and took another bite out of her sandwich. "I am enjoying myself as well." Paz added, cheerfully. "Snake assigned me to the mess hall. I added some Costa Rican recipes to the menu!" She smiled sweetly.

"Mmmm that sounds delicious. I can't wait to try some." Lydia added, taking another bite of her sandwich, finishing it off.

"In any case, I've got to go catch up with Snake. It was nice meeting you Cécile and officially meeting you, Amanda."

"Igualmente." Amanda responded with a nod of her head. Lydia picked up her mug and plastic tray. Before leaving the area, she placed the plastic tray where a collection was started and carried her mug outside. Once outside, she saw a black and white _creature_ sitting on the edge of the platform. It was stationed between two men that had been fishing.

"What is that?" Lydia asked to no one in particular. She walked to the two men, announcing her presence, making sure not to scare them.

"Oh Sub-C! Good morning! We're just fishing!" Upon approaching the men closer, the creature turned out to be a cat!

"We have a cat on base?" Lydia asked, afraid to touch it just in case if she pushed it off.

"Yeah! The name's Nuke."

"Nuke? Haha. Hilarious." Lydia took another sip of her coffee before walking away, trying everything in her power to not touch the adorable feline. She turned on her radio and called Snake, "Snake, this is Lydia. Do you read me?"

"This is Snake."

"Good. What's your location?"

"Command tower. Third floor main room."

"Got it. I'll be right up." Lydia made her way to the command room to meet Snake. "Good morning." There were a lot more renovations to the room, data displays, radar readings…it almost reminded her of the command room in the CIA. "Wow, quite the upgrade." Lydia looked around at all the fancy technology.

"Hmmm, morning." He greeted. In the room with Snake was Kaz.

"Just who I needed to see." Kaz spoke up. "Welcome back. I have someone I want you to meet, he's in the room across the hall."

"Is this the other recruit you were talking about?" Lydia asked as he guided her out into the hall.

"Mhmm." Once outside, Kaz opened the door leading into the office across the hall. Kaz seemed distant. Almost like he was mentally out of reach…Lydia couldn't get a read on him. "Excuse me, I brought someone you might wanna meet." Kaz announced, guiding Lydia into the room. A lot of renovations done to this one as well. A lot more gadgets and gear…looked like the perfect place to work on small-scale R&D projects.

"Wow." Lydia looked around, taking in her surroundings. Across the room she saw a man sitting in an automated wheel-chair. His hair was thin and feathery; it's length was running to his shoulders. _Wait…_ Lydia squinted at him, it looked like he was doing the same. Those round glasses, mousy facial features… "Huey Emmerich?"

"Lydia Matthews?"

"Wow! It really is you!" Lydia smiled. The two of them worked their way to the middle of the room. She extended her hand for the greeting which was happily received by her old acquaintance. "Well I'll be damned, it's a small world after all."

"No kidding." Huey smiled. "Good to see you."

"Am I…missing something?" Kaz butted in, walking beside the reunion.

"Oh!" Lydia retracted her hand. "Huey and I attended MIT together back in the States. Granted, our majors were _completely_ different and he was already working on his PHD. I would always see him during my lunch break between two of my classes."

"Yeah. The last time I saw you I had just accepted that job for NASA."

"And now you're here. Wow." Lydia nodded and crossed her arms over his chest.

"Well at least you two are already acquainted." Kaz added.

"I've been providing MSF with some intel in regards to the AI and metal gear to Snake. See if we can come up with a way to stop Peace Walker before it's complete."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. I've been gone for like…two days. I have _no_ idea what you're talking about." Lydia's brain was lighting up with the terms. "Metal gear? Peace Walker? AI?"

"It's a lot to explain. I'll leave you two so you can get caught up." Kaz waved…not like him to leave her alone like that so abruptly. Was everything alright with him?

"Alright." Lydia responded, retracting her thoughts and moving her attention to Huey. Since Snake's time on the field, he had come across unmanned weapons. Because Snake rescued Huey, he had decided to lend us aid as an offer for us to give him security in return. He had told her about the weapon, Peace Walker, under the supervision of a CIA operative: Hot Coldman. It wasn't done with construction at the time being so they still had some time before its assembly was complete. It was a dangerous, fully-functional walking weapon that would be powered by an AI known as the Mammal Pod.

"See...the aim of the Peace Walker project is to achieve robust nuclear deterrence across Central America by deploying a new nuclear weapon system along the Caribbean coast. Peace Walker also happens to be the name of the system itself."

"A nuclear weapon named after peace? Sounds a little backwards if you ask me."

"Heh…" Huey nervously chuckled at her closeness as Lydia leaned in to look at the blueprints of Peace Walker's layout. "W-well, because it has the ability to walk, too, its capable of launching a deterrent strike from anywhere…that's really the whole idea behind Peace Walker."

"And it's operated through AI? You installed that?"

"Yes, because it cannot fit a human pilot. Peace Walker is designed to enter enemy territory and blow itself up - if necessary. You can't really put a person inside a weapon that could blow at anytime, can you?" That sounded oddly humane.

"I mean, if you were _into_ building those kinds of things…sure." Lydia responded. "So you just equipped it with an AI instead?"

"Yes. Peace walker needs an AI to make decisions regarding nuclear retaliation. It's what ensures perfectly mutual assured destruction." Huey pointed to where the AI is harbored.

"This all sounds like a Sci-fi movie. Were you guys aiming at some machine-only war?"

"That was exactly Snake's reaction." Huey sighed and adjusted his glasses. "Peace Walker would never initially launch a nuke. It's only used as a counter-attack. Only a politician could make such an _illogical_ decision as starting a nuclear war. So if an adversary launches a nuke at us…the AI will not fail to retaliate. Therefore…the adversary can't launch. The AI guarantees it."

"So Coldman is planning on revamping the Cold War?" Lydia asked.

"In a way." Huey sighed, rubbing his temples. Lydia stood up straight after the long briefing.

"It sounds to me like Snake has a lot of work cut out for him. I would want a break before heading in, too. Hopefully we can get all the intel in order before sending him back out. Good thinking, Huey. Glad you're aboard."

"Yeah, me too." He sighed with relief.

"I'll let you get back to what you were working on. You'll see me around."

"Yes ma'am." Lydia walked out of the room…her head literally wanted to explode. Snake had to find a way to stop a nuclear bipedal weapons system before it's finished and causes another Cold War…peachy. Just peachy.

Lydia walked back into the main command room to find no one was around. "Where did they go?" She asked herself. Lydia walked out to the ground platform and was greeted by a random gust of wind. Her hair ungracefully whipped in her face, causing her to sigh. _That's what I forgot to do._ Lydia gathered up her hair and brought it to the side, braiding it while walking around. There were a lot more soldiers on base. Some of them were scattered around, planning construction for more platforms and other necessities.

"Oh man, I can't wait! With the kill room finished, we can finally finish up the sauna!" A random pair of soldiers walked by.

"I'm so excited! It's gonna be so good for the muscles." And that was then end of eavesdropping in _that_ conversation. Lydia tied the end of her hair in some kind of knot before moving onward. _I better go see Raven, he called me earlier._

Lydia made her way to the medical platform, finding herself en route to Raven's office. She knocked on the door to find him sitting behind a desk. "Look at you! You got a desk now?"

"Heh, comes with the territory. Nah, I split it with three other guys. I'm just looking over some charts."

"Alrighty. Well, you called me earlier, right?"

"Yeah. Boss wants me to give you a physical."

"A physical, why?"

"Well, everyone needs one. Just to make sure you're still in good shape."

"Ok?" Lydia crossed her arms, feeling a little defensive. "Out of nowhere?"

"Oh, don't worry about it Sub-C. He's wanting a physical done for everyone. You were just the next on my list."

"Jesus." Lydia sighed with relief. "Alright, where do you want me to go?" Raven flipped through a few more papers on his desk, humming.

"Well, let's see…room 128."

"On my way, doc."

"Oh Sub-C." He called out stopping her from exiting the office. He tossed her a plastic cup with a lid. "Pee in that."

"So _demanding_." She caught it and walked to the nearest bathroom. After collecting her sample, she walked into her assigned room and sat on the medical bed to await further attention. Once Raven arrived, about an hour passed until she was done with her physical.

"Well everything looks good. If I were you, I would do some more strength exercises with your left leg."

"Yeah, I hear that a lot." Lydia slid off the medical table.

"You don't want it to give out at the wrong moment."

"Alright doc." Raven agreed. "I'll work on it. Find anything interesting in my pee?"

"Nothing to note. Clear as apple juice."

"Apple juice? That's the silliest thing I've ever heard." Lydia laughed. "Well thank you, I'm gonna go to the kill room. Work on my leg."

"Good idea." Raven nodded. "See you around Sub-C. I have to check on Amanda. I told her to be back around this time."

"Have fun. She's a cool cat."

"Heh. She _sure_ is."

Upon walking out of the facility, Lydia began to walk back to the command platform. "Wait!" Someone called out to her. "Sub-C! Wait!"

Lydia stopped on the bridge and turned around, Orca was running up to her. "Orca? Hey! I haven't seen you in a while!"

He stopped a few feet shy of her and steadied his breathing. "Yes ma'am! I actually just got back from a reconnaissance mission in Cuba."

"Look at you!" She smiled and punched his arm, making his cheeks flush red.

"Well I got something for you while I was over there." He was digging in one of his vest pockets. "A bird told me that you like Elton John and I was able to get…this!" He pulled out a cassette from his breast pocket. "I made a mixtape of some of his songs."

"You did, huh?" Lydia's face lit up as she took the cassette from his hand. "Thank you, Orca. This is one thoughtful gift. I haven't heard Elton John in a long time."

"Heh, I kinda thought so." He scratched the back of his head. "I'm glad you like it."

"I don't just like it, I love it. Thank you." Lydia held out her hand for him to shake. He smiled in return and firmly took a hold of her hand. "I'm gonna go to the kill room, you're welcome to join me."

"Nah, I've got a mission report to type up and deliver to Commander Miller." He saluted. "I'll see you around, Sub-C." Just like that he jogged off in the opposite direction. Lydia smiled and looked down to the cassette. _This is awesome. I've got to get my Walkman._

After retrieving her walkman from her quarter, she found her way to the kill room. She stuck the headphones on her ears and waltzed to the tactical training area. It was an intricate maze, very well-made. She pressed 'play' on the Walkman. The phones blared a song she hadn't heard before. It instantly displayed a classic, catchy piano riff. Lydia grabbed an AR hanging on the wall for training use. She loaded it and prepared herself for the timed relay. The programmed it to last five minutes. Each section had it's own booth of targets the challenger had to shoot before moving onto the next area. Lydia made her way to the starting zone and pressed a big red START button for the training to commence.

Bringing her AR to a ready position, she made her way around the training area with the music of Elton John alive in her ears. Shot after shot his name swirled in her mind. _Kaz._ What if they fail? _Kaz._ What if she were to stare into the barrel of another tank? _Kaz._ Into a gun? _Kaz._ What if the sun were to rise without her? _Kaz._ Without him? _Kaz._ Her left leg buckled out from beneath her. "Augh!" Her left knee hit the concrete hard as the gun fell from her hands. She caught herself with her right hand. "Ugh." Lydia sat on her butt as the timer ran out.

Kaz ran through every corner of her mind. _"How wonderful life is now you're in the world…"_ Elton John echoed in her mind. _Kaz._ She shut her eyes and rested her forehead on her left knee. _If we can't stop Peace Walker, than everything we've worked for will mean nothing. Everything that we've been through…gone._ She placed both her hands on the ground and sat herself up, moving her weight to her right leg. She picked up the AR and proceeded to limp to the end of the trial. She took off her headphones and hung them around her neck. A few gunshots rang through the Kill Room. As Lydia found her way back to the entrance, a squad was practicing their shooting with a multitude of weapons.

She chose to ignore them for her own sake, her mood was thin from collapsing. She positioned the gun back onto its position on the wall before exiting out. The sky had grown dark, clouds littered the atmosphere to block out natural light. Lydia limped to the edge of the command platform and sat, her legs hanging off the edge. The sun was just about to finish setting. The dark purple and maroon reflected off the water with golden trim. "I love you…" She whispered to herself, keeping her eye on the horizon. _If I don't tell him now, I might never get the chance again._

Lydia reached in her left pant pocket and pulled out her radio. "Kaz. Kaz, do you read me?" Silence. "Kaz?"

"Hey, hey, why am _I_ the bad guy? Come on, Cécile, wait! Cécile!" She heard the familiar voice she was calling for…but not the name she wanted to hear in return. Lydia's torso turned toward the commotion. Cécile was storming off toward the living quarters from the mess hall. She was red in the face...he probably said something insensitive or offensive. Kaz, on the other-hand, had given up his pursuit of the beautiful Parisian. _Ah._ Lydia tucked in her lips and returned her eyes to the ocean, feeling a pin in her heart. _I guess that's why I don't say it._ She sighed.

"What are you doing out here all alone, huh?" It wasn't Kaz, like she was expecting. She turned her head to the right to face Chico, who was holding Nuke to his chest.

"Chico…right?" Lydia weakly smiled. "Got a lot on my mind, kiddo."

"Aye, I'm not a kid." Chico corrected Lydia. He placed Nuke down…the cat instantly invaded her space and crawled up on her lap, curling up into a ball. "Oh-ho, Nuke seems to like you."

"So it seems so." Lydia lifted up her right hand and ran it along Nuke's soft fur.

"Chico? What are you doing out here?" The voice of Amanda rang out behind them. "It's getting late, you need to go get some rest."

"Pero, Amanda!" His little voice sounded disappointed, almost making Lydia want to laugh.

"Go, Chico." She ordered her brother.

"Ok, ok." He frowned. Once he turned around, Nuke's head rose to catch sight of him leaving. Without hesitation, the feline stood up and followed the kid. Lydia sized up Amanda as she got closer. She walked with one crutch while her leg was still in a cast.

"It looks like something is on your mind. No one stares out like that unless they're thinking about something…or some _one_." Lydia scoffed and shook her head.

"Got that right." Lydia caught Amanda's figure in the corner of her eye.

"Do you mind if I join you, then?"

"Not at all."

"You see, I was you earlier this afternoon. There was a lot on my mind as well…hell there still is." Her voice became somber. She used her crutch to lower her self to the ground and sit next to Lydia. "There was a question that kept circling in my head… _how_ do we win? What means do we have?" Amanda chuckled, regaining some life in her voice. "And then Snake told me to stop feeling sorry for myself. He said 'Amanda, a leader has to stand tall. Even when times get tough. When it feels like the fear and uncertainty could crush you…you're the one your comrades look to for reassurance. Don't forget it. That's what a leader is."

"Heh, wise words." Lydia responded, feeling a little lighter. "He would probably tell me to pull myself together."

"Then that's what you should do." Amanda pat Lydia on the back with a light slap. "You need to tackle what is bringing you down. Conquer it." Lydia looked into Amanda's beautiful forest-green eyes.

"You're right."

"Go tell him you love him. Don't think about the response he will have or you might not get another chance."

"Wait… _what_?"

"I saw the way you were looking at Miller in the hospital room." Amanda nudged her arm. "He is a little part of what makes you strong. No matter how womanizing he can be."

"I can't believe you noticed."

"Woman's intuition." Amanda winked. "Maybe if you tell him, he will stop flirting with the other women. I'm no romantic, but he's probably missing something with you."

"Heh. Good grief, Amanda." Lydia laughed to herself. "Thanks fort the pep talk. I'll get to it."

"You better, chica." Lydia adjusted herself so she could stand up. She held out her hand to help Amanda off the ground. Amanda took a hold and stood up with ease, remembering to bring her crutch with her. "Vamos. We've got another day ahead of us." Amanda and Lydia walked together back to their living areas. Amanda was located on the bottom floor for easy access while Lydia traveled up.

She walked down the long hall and passed her own room before stopping in front of Kaz's room. She closed her right fist and brought it up to knock on the door. When her knuckles were about to hit the door, she heard a groan. A groan she's heard all too many times to know what was going on in there. Lydia's hand began to shake the more she held it up. She gently rested her knuckles on the door - no noise. Lydia inhaled through her nose and softly exhaled. Knock. Her knuckles hit the door. Knock. Again. Knock. And again.

She could hear the rustling from beyond the door. Lydia dropped her hand to her side, wanting to turn away. Why the hell did she just knock?! _No. I have to go through with this. If he's with another woman, so be it. He has to know._ The door slid open, Kaz was in a white cotton shirt with his briefs…his erection was concealed but still plain as day.

"L-Lydia?" He was out of breath, sweating.

"Kaz…I need to tell you something." He looked around, as if someone was watching. He opened his mouth to say something, but she instantly cut him off. "Don't talk. Just listen." She inhaled, looking at him in his beautiful blue eyes. "I had a realization while I was out on the field. I almost…died. I was staring down death's long dark barrel. I faced it head on, I knew I was going to be risking my life."

"L-Lydia, I don't know if now's-"

"Kaz." Lydia interrupted him. "Just listen to me." She narrowed her eyes. "You're all I can think about day and night, dammit. I wasn't going to face death again without letting you know that I…" Lydia paused. She could feel fear creep into her heart. She wanted to vomit her own heart out. "…that I love you." She choked out. "You don't have to say anything."

"Lydia…" He sounded solemn…almost guilty. "Lydia I-" She knew that look, but she couldn't pin-point if it was pity or doubt.

"Please." She cut him off for the last time. "Please don't say anything if you don't know what to say. Goodnight Kaz." Lydia left him in the doorway. The closer she got to her room she felt lighter. A weight had finally been lifted from her shoulders. Lydia faced her door about to enter until she heard something.

Laughter.

Laughter?

Lydia turned her head to face Kaz's room. He was leaning in his door way laughing to himself, crossing his arms over his perfectly-proportioned chest. "What's…so…funny?" Lydia narrowed her eyes.

"Are you serious?" Kaz calmed down a little bit but still had laughter hitched in his voice.

"What, you don't think I am?"

"Lydia, we're not…"

"Together? Yeah." She looked down to the ground after finishing Kaz's sentence. "I know."


	39. Chapter 39

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise!**

 **Author's Note: Here is the next chapter! :)**

 **Guest:** Just thinking about getting to GZ makes me wanna cry :'(

 **Guest K:** Damn Kaz! Things are bound to get better tho...right? *dun dun dunnnnnn*

 **Important Note:** Ummm when I uploaded this chapter, there was an odd error message so I deleted this chapter and then re-uploaded. Are you guys getting email notifications when I'm updating?

 ****Mature Content Warning: Minor Violence**

* * *

 **"Why do birds suddenly appear,**

 **Every time you are near?**

 **Just like me, they long to be,**

 **Close to you.**

 **Why do stars fall down from the sky,**

 **Every time you walk by?  
**

 **Just like me, they long to be,**

 **Close to you."**

 **-The Carpenters**

* * *

 **November 18, 1974: 12:00**

Kaz avoided her. Just what she had expected. Amanda turned out to be right when she said that Kaz was part of what made Lydia strong…but he was also a major weakness. **Bang**. Ocelot was a weakness. **Bang**. Kaz was a weakness. **Bang**. Love's a weakness. **Bang**.

 _"Love is dangerous, Lydia."_

 **Click**. Her pistol was empty. She transferred the gun into her left hand as she unloaded the mag. Lydia reached and grabbed for another set of bullets, securing them into the hilt and chamber of the gun. The kill room was silent as Ocelot echoed in her ears.

 _"I'm not-"_

Her heart ached like it did back then. Bang. Each bullet tore through the target like nothing.

 _"Yes. Yes you are."_

Bang. The target shed blood. The more bullets she fired, the more blood flooded out. Flesh was torn to shreds as the bullet flew through the black jacket. Shaky, gloved hands glided up the body, trying to keep in all the blood it could. Lydia lowered her gun and shut her eyes. The image staining her mind. _Why you?_ Lydia opened her eyes. Klein was there, holding his chest. Blood was flowing from his mouth like a waterfall. His eyes were dim, skin was bruised where he had been bludgeoned.

She was hallucinating. Her head was dizzy. "Are _you_ haunting me now?"

"Not yet, I don't think." Lydia raised her gun and turned around, aiming it at the man who snuck up on her. "Whoa!" It was Kaz. He lunged forward and grabbed her right wrist, quickly turning the gun away from him. He twisted her wrist until the gun fell out of her hand and into his left. Lydia broke free from Kaz and held her right wrist in her left hand, gently rubbing it. Kaz reached beyond Lydia and placed the gun safely on the metal tray in the target booth. "I didn't think you'd take it that bad."

Lydia inhaled and exhaled deeply before looking him in the eyes through his aviators. "What are you talking about?"

"Lydia, it's been _days_." He placed his right hand on his hip.

"And who's fault is _that_? You missing me or something?"

"I am." Her question wasn't serious, but his tone was. Lydia sighed and looked to the ground. "Let me take you somewhere."

"Are you _serious_?" She wanted to roll her eyes.

"In a few days, when we get this Peace Walker business settled. What do you say?" Lydia raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"Just say yes, will ya?" Kaz pushed.

"Fine. Yes." Lydia couldn't help but turn her frown into a crooked smile.

"Good." Kaz held a peace-sign for victory before turning around. "You won't regret it." He finalized before waltzing out of the kill room.

* * *

 **November 18, 1974: 13:30**

Lydia had made her way from the kill room to the intel branch, where she met up with the lead, Orca. The main intelligence room was located in a three-story building to a platform north-east of the main command platform. It looked like Orca was a little kid doodling in a coloring book with how focused he was on the task in front of him. In the room was about ten other soldiers that were recording on logs and messing with some newly-developed devices that would make it a lot easier to store information. "Sub-C!" One of the men noticed her presence and stood up from his chair, saluting her. A chain reaction was to follow.

Lydia saluted and dismissed them back to their work. "Sub-C, w-what are you doing here?" Orca nervously muttered.

"I'm so happy we finally got the man-power to set up an intel team." Lydia smiled. "I just came to see what project you were working on…you said Cuba a few days ago, right?"

"Sure did." Orca sat down in his chair from his standing position and pointed to his map. "Since your the Sub-C, I'll clear this information to you. I know we have the whole nuclear war to avoid right now, but I found something pretty interesting. Well…it's not AS interesting as a nuclear holocaust but might be good looking into it, soon."

"Alright, I'll bite." Lydia moved behind the desk and peered over Orca's shoulder. Below him was a map. He had drawn and circled a few boxes. "What's that?"

"Exactly." Orca pointed to the box. "This is an American Naval Prison Facility. It wasn't on the map, but it's been there for a while."

"And why wasn't it on the map before?"

"That's an excellent question. While I was down there doing some recon, I noticed there was a _lot_ of traffic in and out of the area…which is odd for a military prison."

"No kidding. Not even the CIA base in the US had a lot of pedestrian traffic. Did you find out anything else?"

"No ma'am, I'm going to keep my eyes and ears on it…I have a feeling there's something going on over there…I just don't know what."

"Assumptions won't get you anywhere on the field." Lydia sighed. "You need some hard evidence. If you're suspecting something, why don't we send some guys out there for an extended time?"

"Seriously?" Orca sounded surprised.

"The CIA had their agents placed all around the globe for reconnaissance. I know we would benefit from doing the same." Lydia held a thumbs-up. "I want you to gather three of your best and send them to the compound undercover. Find them the right documents and make sure they don't blow it."

"Y-yes ma'am!" Orca smiled and stood up from his seat.

"Have them report to you until we send them better gear to better track their findings."

"Yes ma'am!" Orca saluted with confidence.

"Get on it. I'll tell Boss." Lydia walked out of the room then called Snake from her radio. "Snake, do you read me?"

"This is Snake." His response was instant.

"Your location?"

"Kill room."

"On my way." Lydia jogged to the kill room, ready to find Snake firing off a weapon in one of the target practice booths…but he was nowhere in sight. _He's totally hiding._ Lydia remembered this kind of ploy. Lydia stopped in her tracks and did a three-sixty spin trying to spot his location. _There aren't many places to hide…_ It was that moment when she heard something shift on the second level. Surprised, Lydia craned her head up to see Snake vaulting himself over a walkway from above! Lydia rolled out of the way and regained her balance, instantly turning to Snake whom had landed on his feet. Lydia and Snake mirrored one another, taking defensive stances.

"Your reflexes have improved." Snake complimented, not dropping his guard.

"Of course, I haven't been slacking since we last squared off."

"Heh." Lydia lunged forward with a right straight that was easily moved aside. Snake was about to counter with his right fist, but it was no use! Lydia used her left arm to deflect the blast and pivoted away from him to regain her stamina. He didn't give her enough time to recover, he flew a right straight at her body. She was able to catch his fist with her right hand but instantly realized that's what he wanted when lips formed a sly grin. Snake grabbed a hold of her right with his left and turned around, pressing his back up against her. The pole-vault was next. She then found herself flying over his shoulder in a quick motion and down to the ground with a hard thud.

"Ugh." Lydia groaned in defeat when her body hit the concrete.

"Always be two steps ahead." Snake held out his hand for her to take. "You're better now than you were when you were just a kid, kid."

"Even at twenty-eight, I'm still just a kid, huh?" Lydia sighed and took his hand. He helped her off the ground and placed his hand on her shoulder afterwards.

"You'll always be a kid." Snake chuckled under his breath and retracted his hand. "What did you need?"

" _Well_ , I was gonna ask for your permission to delegate some undercover work for our Intel team."

"Thinking about sending them somewhere?"

"There's some interesting things happening in Southern Cuba right now. A lot of traffic in and out of a US military prison facility. Orca noticed it while he was down there a few days ago. It'd be good to send a few people over there just to keep an eye out."

"Alright." Snake agreed, without giving it much thought. "Make sure they have everything they need before sending them out."

"Yessir." Lydia nodded. "I wanted to ask you about Peace Walker, too…you have a plan?"

"I'm leaving on the twenty-first. I'll make my way into the compound and stop Peace Walker from being completed."

"Need some help?"

"I need your help here at Mother Base. Keep everyone in control and rally them when needed…I might need back-up on this one."

"Got it." Lydia nodded. "Oh…and one more thing." Snake crossed his arms over his chest. "Wanna do some more training?"

* * *

 **November 18, 1974: 16:00**

After the harsh training session, Lydia had finally tired herself out and crossed the finish line. "Alright, Snake. Uncle." Lydia heaved. Snake laughed under his breath and placed his hand to his ear.

"This is Snake." Lydia stretched her arms to her sides and cracked her neck as she waited to Snake to finish his conversation. "Lydia…"

"Yes?" She responded.

"Come to the hangar with me below deck." Snake ordered. "Huey wants to show us something."

"Alright, let's head down." Minutes after walking, Snake and Lydia made their way below deck to a large hangar. In it, there were dozens of MSF Research and Development guys scurrying about, trying to put together a plan. In the room, Kaz was also present. He was standing next to Huey at some type of planning table.

"Huey, what is it?" Snake questioned. He and Lydia approached the two men.

"I have an idea." Huey turned around in his wheel-chair. "We were able to salvage a few of the parts that were left behind from the Metal Gear that you took out. Miller and I were thinking we should construct our own Metal Gear!"

"Of course he'll need help doing it." Kaz stepped forward with a clip-board in hand. He handed it over to Snake. "Most of the R&D guys are game to help out."

"Aren't those…I don't know…dangerous?" Lydia crossed her arms and glanced at the blueprint. The Metal Gear looked like it was designed to stand on its own…another bipedal weapon. If it had the capabilities of Peace Walker, wouldn't MSF be back where it started? It couldn't possibly be armed with the same AI that could potentially cause an all-out disaster.

"Of course we have to worry about Peace Walker, first. But if we were to build our _own_ Metal Gear, MSF wouldn't be lacking in defense…we would always have the advantage!" Huey exclaimed.

"You planning on making in unmanned?" Snake questioned, he looked slightly intrigued.

"I mean, I'll supervise the assembly…we'll wait to see about the AI." Huey defended.

"Alright Huey, go ahead and start development." Snake handed the blueprints back. Huey's face lit up like a kid on Christmas.

"A-alright! Right away!"

Kaz's smile could be seen from a mile away. "You know…as long as we're 'soldiers without borders' we're going to need our own deterrent."

"We're going to be stepping into a lot of different conflicts as we roam the world." Snake spoke. "Each one unique, and with its own set of geography, ideologies, and politics. If we're going to intervene in those kinds of situations, we need the threat of Metal Gear."

"Snake, I think you're right…but it can't have an AI that can think for itself…it's too risky." Lydia butted in, letting out her two-cents.

"Lydia, think of Che Guevara in Bolivia…we don't want to end up like that, do we?" Lydia only shook her head side to side at Kaz's point.

"Well said, Kaz. Our army without borders doesn't have a land to call home. We're nomads. Wanderers. What we need now is a sheepdog to guard our flock." Snake butted in.

"Right." Kaz agreed.

"So...we're not going to recreationally use it? Just put it up for display just in case?" Lydia asked. What would be the point then? Having a metal gear would just but a bigger target on their heads.

Snake's expression fell. "Maybe it's not the way The Boss would have gone about it…" He recollected. "But there are placed in this world that need us - and soldiers that need MSF. As long as we're needed, we'll keep moving. Ours is a journey that never ends."

"And _Metal Gear_ will help with that?" Lydia's attitude was showing as she placed her right hand on her hip, throwing her left arm into the air.

"It will spread reputation. We'll become our own super-power with a Metal Gear on our side."

"We're the real Peace Walkers." Snake simply said to cut off Lydia and Kaz's debate. "Now all we have to do is take out the carbon-copy."

* * *

 **November 22, 1974: 13:00**

The development of Metal Gear ZEKE, as Kaz and Huey called it, was running smoothly. The R&D team was swiftly putting it all together…it was going to end up being a _massive_ piece of work...or a pain in the ass if Lydia had anything to say about it. The salvage that was left behind was the main reason why ZEKE even stood a chance to be built. Huey still had no clue what to do with the AI…he kept muttering to himself that he wished _'she_ ' was at Mother Base to help. The one contracting the AI for Peace Walker, Dr. Strangelove. Apparently she is one hell of a scientist to create an AI with human features.

While ZEKE was the main project, Lydia had been hard at work with the Intel team since Snake's departure. She and Orca sent out the appropriate number to men to Cuba to be stationed. Each of them were armed with the appropriate forged documents and communications before being sent out. Apart from the departure, Lydia prepared the team for back-up. When Snake would need field support, she made sure they would be two steps ahead.

Kaz had purchased some more hardware…cargo ships, more helicopters. Outer Ops and Side Missions completed by the combat unit were their main source of income and there were _no_ shortage of job offers. With MSF's reputation spreading the past few days, more and more men wanted to volunteer. But the twenty-third they were up to one-hundred and seventy staff members that brought something new to every department.

Snake had arrived back in Costa Rica on the twenty-first. He took his time working his way back to the facility that harbored Peace Walker. The morning of the twenty-second, his comms were dead. His tracker was still in the facility. It was nearly 13:00, neither Lydia or Kaz had heard anything from him. The both of them and Huey were in the main Command Room, awaiting him to say something. The anticipation was killing them.

"Still nothing." Lydia sighed, placing her radio on the table. "You think he's been captured?"

"That's a good guess." Kaz sighed. Their hands were tied, all they could do was wait.

"Should I send someone over just in case? We're running out of time."

"Not yet." Kaz replied. "Dammit." He shook his head.

"Regardless, there's something wrong. He would never be this inconsistent when checking in. I'll call the ships in the area, maybe they can deploy someone by chopper to check it out."

"I can go." A familiar voice spoke up. The heads of Kaz, Lydia and Huey turned to the doorway to see Raven had just entered. "I was getting nervous, came to check everything out. Looks like I arrived just in time."

"Raven?"

"Something happened to Boss, right? What is he's injured? He could use some medical attention. Sub-C, you've seen me in the field before I was assigned to medical. I can go."

"He's right." Lydia looked at Kaz.

"If I leave now, I could make it to the bunker by 16:00."

"Fine. Raven your mission is to locate Snake and make sure he's alright." Huey rolled over to Raven with some device in his hand. He held it out for Raven to take. Raven hesitated at first then took the device.

"What's this?" Raven fondled the device in his hands, trying to figure it out.

"It's something that I've been working on, now would be a good time to test it out. I'm calling it the iDroid."

"Huey, I don't think now's the time to learn something new, we've got to send him out." Lydia spoke up.

"Huey, she's right." Kaz agreed.

"Just hear me out." Huey held up his hands. "Press that red button on top right hand corner." Raven followed his instructions, a small, digital map was projected from the middle of the device. Kaz and Lydia stood up and crowded around Raven to investigate the handy device. "The buttons on the left will zoom in and out. You see that white triangle there?"

"Whoa. Yeah I see it."

"That's _you_. The iDroid is your own tracking device. Your position will be displayed on our monitors here at Mother Base. Snake's position should appear as a white triangle as well when you're close to him on the map. The map is made up of the intel team's data I programmed into its internal memory. The iDroid should automatically update depending on your position by using satellite connection software."

"Whoa." Raven, Kaz, and Lydia awed in unison. "Ahem, in any case. I'll figure this out on the way over. I should gear up."

"Right, good idea." Kaz and Lydia snapped out of it. Raven closed the digital map and placed the device into one of his cargo pockets. "I'll get Monarch ready while you suit up."

"Have him meet me at the Command helipad." Raven told Lydia before walking out.

"Got it." After Lydia ordered the departure, it was back to the waiting game.

It wasn't until 16:45 when Raven called in. "Raven to Mother Base. I have arrived at the LZ, I've located Snake's tracker in the bunker. I have eyes on the entrance after scouting. Permission to proceed."

"Raven, this is Miller. Go ahead. Make sure he's safe."

"Over and out." Kaz and Lydia kept their eyes on the digital display on the table. Raven didn't get too far…he had stopped. "Raven to Mother Base, I found him. He's outside the bunker, he looks injured. He's no where _near_ his comms, it must still be inside."

"Go check him out." Kaz ordered.

"He's pretty beat up." Raven reiterated. "I brought some medical supplies with me, I'll work on patching him up."

"Good, work as efficiently as you can." Kaz spoke. Lydia massaged her temples with her fingers and sighed.

"What do you think happened?" Lydia asked.

"No doubt he was captured. That lucky son of a bitch probably made it out somehow."

"Jesus." Lydia shut her eyes with a strong inhale. The _excitement_ just didn't end.

"Lydia?!" Her comms blew up in her ear, making Lydia jump with surprise. She recognized the voice…Chico?

"Go ahead…" She replied.

"I can't find Paz! I think she's missing!"

"Chico, _what_? What do you mean?"

"Lydia, what's going on?" Kaz asked, leaning forward. She abruptly held up her right index finger for him to hold on.

"Uhhh I don't know! I was looking for her and I can't find her! And Professor Gálvez is gone, too!" Chico was starting to sound frantic, almost like he had done something wrong.

"Thank you, Chico. I'll get on it." She said, grinding her teeth together.

"Let me help!" She could hear to guilt wash in young boy's voice...she couldn't help but feel obligated to let him help out.

"Alright, you can look more around Mother Base. Check every nook and cranny, make sure she's not just playing hide and seek."

"Yes ma'am!" Chico stopped his transmission that resulted Lydia to sigh.

"Well, things just keep getting more and more interesting." Lydia almost wanted to laugh as she ran her right hand over her face. "Paz and Gálvez are gone."

" _What_?!" Kaz nearly fell over. "You've got to be joking!"

"Nope. Chico's now on the lookout. He sounded _genuinely_ concerned."

Kaz frustratingly ran his fingers thought his hair. "I can't _believe_ this. Their disappearance is _too_ convenient with Snake's given mission. I'll look more into it. Don't tell Snake. I'm going to ask around."

"Alright, I'll keep an eye on Raven." Kaz stormed out of the room, leaving Huey and Lydia all by themselves.

"Y-you think she's alright?" Huey asked with a trembling, nervous voice.

"I don't have the patience to think about that right now." Lydia said, keeping her eyes on the trackers.

"Sub-C, you there?" Raven spoke minutes later.

"I'm here, Raven. What's up?"

"I've fixed up Boss, but it's going to take him a little bit to recover his stamina. I have an idea about where his gear is. I'm going to retrieve it."

"Be careful, Raven. Keep an eye out for Peace Walker if you're near the Hangar."

"Raven, you can place a marker on something if you press and hold the top right-hand corner on the iDroid. We can use that to track Peace Walker from here on out."

"My first priority is getting Boss' stuff, but I'll keep that in mind." Raven responded.

* * *

 **CLIFFHANGER :') Raven in action next chapter! :)**


	40. Chapter 40

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise!**

 **Author's Note: I'm back updating to my people! :) Job doesn't have me scheduled on any random travel trips so I should be back to updating normally now! *knocks on wood*. Pray for me lol. Thank you for your patience over this past month-ish without an update. I was dying wanting to get this one out to you! I hope you enjoy :3 How long did it take you guys to complete that side op where you've got to get Snake's stuff?**

 **CaptainMc:** Good to hear from you and welcome back! :D Here's the next chapter!

 **Guest K:** Hopefully the email notifications go through this time *fingers crossed*. Thank you for your support from the beginning! Can't wait to hear what you think about this one! :D

 **Nightraider2000:** Welcome over and thank you! :D Here is MOOORE!

 **Bobby Jones. The Real One: (Chap. 22)** Awww, I hope you kept reading (If you didn't thank's totally fine! Thank you for tuning in :3). Lydia does find out about the photosensitivity a few chapters later. Thank you for your reviews!

 **Guest:** Just wait till you get a load of THIS chapter ;) I am doing well! So happy to be back in town!

* * *

 **"Ninety nine red balloons,**

 **Floating in the summer sky,**

 **Panic bells, it's red alert.**

 **There's something here from somewhere else.**

 **The war machine springs to life,**

 **Opens up one eager eye,**

 **And focusing it on the sky.**

 **The ninety nine red balloons go by."**

 **-Nena**

* * *

 **Raven: November 22, 1974: 16:50**

The Boss' body was less unsightly than it had been when Raven had found him. His bruises and burns were now covered up with medical gauze and tape. From the looks of it, he was still tired. "Hey Boss." Raven snapped his fingers in front of Boss' face for a reaction. The Boss blinked open his bright green eye and looked at him. "You gonna still be here when I get back, or do I have to worry about you dying on me?"

"Raven?" He groaned out, trying to come back to his senses.

"The one and only." Raven stood up from his crouching position and clapped his hands together. "You need to focus on your recovery. As for your things? They're still inside the compound…I'll get them while you stay here and recover."

"Raven, wait."

"Not waiting, Boss. We're on a bit of a time-crunch." He held a thumbs up. "I know exactly where your gear is. I'll be back in no time." Before Boss could hold him back with any other words, Raven took off toward the entrance of the weapon hangar he had spotted before calling in Boss' position.

Raven made his way across the barren entrance and easily slipped inside the hangar. Below, he could feel rumbling vibrations through his boots as if someone was moving something heavy. Peace Walker, maybe? No use in thinking about it now, Boss was useless without his things and they might spot that he's escaped pretty soon. Raven looked at the watch on his wrist. _Five minutes tops._ He challenged himself. _I've got five minutes before someone realizes that he's escaped. That could lead to a jump-start to Peace Walker. No thank you. Not today._

Raven soon emerged himself into a large room that was filled with a multitude of weapons. He started off on a fenced, metal walk-way that was stationed above two bulky tanks; one to his left and one to his right. With his right hand, he pulled out his non-lethal pistol, readying it for fire. Up ahead on the other side of the elevated area stood two men conversing with one another. They were dressed in sloppy gear…not prepared for what was about to happen to them. Every vital part of their body was exposed; making things a hell of a lot simpler. Raven peeked his head over the top of the barricade to examine the ground below. To his right, tucked away behind one of the tank-like vehicles was an elevator shaft.

Raven ducked back down and pulled out the iDroid with his free hand and turned it on. The hologram that displayed showed Boss' things just below him. He was certainly in the right spot…but just needed to do a little descending. He returned his attention to the two men stationed up top. _Good, they're still lolly-gagging around._ It was time to make his move. Raven rolled beyond cover and more toward the east side of the room that harbored the elevator. Just a few feet away was a convenient ladder. Before heading down, Raven readied his pistol one more time. Raven aimed his pistol at the man stationed closes to the shaft; fired, and pinned him right in the neck! _Got 'em!_ Raven ducked back down and loaded the next round into the chamber. Raven looked at his watch and raised an eyebrow at the time. _Alright, about ten seconds before this guy passes out._ Once he heard the thud he positioned himself above the ladder and descended onto the ground level.

"What the? What are you doing down there?" Raven let go of the ladder and looked behind him. Looks like his passed-out friend had been detected. _Great, where did that come from?_ Raven made a three-sixty degree turn and found nothin'. _Was I just hearing things?_ Tap. Tap. Tap. Footsteps from above rattled closer. _Apparently not._ Raven answered his own question. He looked up at the top of the ladder he had just crawled down and spotted the top of a balding head making its way toward the descending point.

Raven sighed to himself. _Now I'm just waisting time._ He wrapped his hands around the bars of the ladder and crawled up most of the way. He stopped short within grabbing reach from the ledge. Once the steps were close enough, Raven vaulted his body up and grabbed the pant leg of the individual heading toward him. With a gasp from the apprehended, Raven pulled the man toward him, feeling the weight of the grunt plummet to the surface. No more movement…he was out cold.

Raven jumped down the ladder and looked around checking if the coast was now clear. With no one in sight, he jogged to the elevator…praying in his mind that it was already stationed at the ground level. Ding! _Yes._ The elevator door opened to the vacant entry. He stepped inside and pressed a button labeled "B". Once the elevator started to move, there was a distinct humming sound that made it to his ears…kind of like a hive of bees buzzing around. The electrical must be unstable in the building or something…either that or they were starting to power-up Peace Walker. He looked at his watch…only one minute to go.

Once the elevator hit the basement level, Raven readied his pistol. "What? Who's there?" The elevator door slid open to reveal two surprised gentleman standing before him. Raven quickly holstered his gun and lunged forward. He grabbed the heads of both individuals, one in each hand and collided their heads together with as much force as he could muster. When they both fell on top of one another he knew that had done the job.

The room smelt like blood and burnt flesh…the same stench that was reeking off of Boss when Raven had found him. _Definitely in the right place._ The basement he had found himself in was dull and dimly lit. There were barred cells everywhere and very little places to take cover. If he were to find Snake's gear, he needed to do it fast. He pulled out the iDroid one more time; he was now in close proximity to Snake's gear. It looks as if it was located in the middle of the room…maybe in some type of closet. Raven jogged to the center of the room easily. It looked like the two pea-brains he bashed were the only ones on duty in the basement. _Lucky me._ He jogged to a closed room across from a suspicious cell. Raven's eyes landed in the cell, there was a mixture of semi-dried blood and sweat on the ground. _That must be where they kept the Boss…meaning…_

Raven's eyes returned to the room with the closed door. The door had no markings it was just there to be there. He approached the room and opened it. Inside was exactly what he was looking for. All of Boss' tactical gear meshed into one tiny room. _I'm surprised Boss didn't look in here before he left._ He wanted to chuckle to himself. _He should be all rested up by now._ One by one, he gathered Boss' items and placed as many items as he could in his multiple pockets. Finally, he grabbed a hold of Boss' neatly folded uniform and stuffed it under his armpit. He backed up out of the room and waltzed up to the cell with Boss' blood. _"Maybe if I follow his trail, I'll have an easier way out. Man, for being injured, he sure was sloppy this time. Didn't even cover up is trail."_ Raven wanted to smack himself. He followed the small trail of blood until he reached a stair-well.

Step by step, Raven ascended the flight of stairs until he reached a large, metal door at the top. He slowly pushed it open and peaked his head out. Surprisingly, it led outside…not too far from Snake's position. _Jeez, I should've asked him how he made it out. Could've made my life a lot easier._ He rolled his eyes before moving on. Raven easily made his way back to Boss, whom was stretching his hamstrings; trying to get his blood moving again! "Nice to see you up and movin' Boss."

"Hnngh, I've still got work to do."

"Well, can't go too far without these." Raven dropped Snake's gear by his feet.

"You know you could've asked me how I made it out and retraced my footsteps?" Raven sighed at Boss' smart-ass suggestion. The half-grin plastered on his bearded face was almost a tad infuriating. Raven's eyelid involuntary twitched at the comment, causing Boss to chuckle deeply. "I get it, kid. Now you know for next time." Boss picked up his things one by one and started to get ready for the threatening mission ahead.

"Yessir." Raven grappled his iDroid from one of his many pockets and brought up the holographic menu.

"Hmmmm, what's that?" Snake questioned with interest in his voice.

"This?" Raven motioned to the iDroid. "It's some contraption Dr. Emmerich thought of, I'm apparently testing it. It's useful even for being in it's development stage."

"Good to hear." Boss cleared his throat. "Raven, I want you to stand by in the area. Did you come with Morpho?"

"Yessir. I'm going to call for a rendezvous right now. We'll hover the area just in case if you need an emergency take-off." Snake was fully clothed and looked ten times better than he had a few moments ago.

"You better call into base, you've got a few people worried about you." Raven reminded.

"I still need to recuperate." Boss admitted. "I'm low on stamina but I'm going to recon the area. I will call into mother base when I'm ready to get moving."

"Yessir. I'm one radio call away, myself. If you need me, I'm your guy." Snake nodded in return to Raven's suggestion. Raven cracked his neck side to side and rolled his shoulders before calling in a landing point for Morpho.

"This is Morpho. Roger rendezvous point. In route." With a quick salute, Raven bid Boss farewell and began to make his way to the custom landing zone.

"Raven to Mother Base, you copy?"

"Loud and clear, Raven. Over." It was Matthews.

"Mission complete, heading back to Morpho as we speak. Any news on Paz?"

"Unfortunately not. Commander Miller couldn't find any trace of her _or_ Gálvez."

"Gálvez too, huh? That's no coincidence." Raven scratched his head.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Hmmm just some suspicious thinking, jumping the gun. Can't make any assumptions now, that's unprofessional." Raven shook his head side to side. "Anyway, Boss wants me in the area. Morpho and I are going to stick around and watch for anything suspicious."

"Huh…sounds good."

"He'll call in soon. He just said he's got to take care of a few things first."

"Got it, I won't bother him. Good work, Raven."

"Thanks." Above the tree-line, Morpho was creeping his way toward the LZ. "Morpho's just about here, I'll keep you updated."

* * *

 **Lydia: November 22, 1974: 19:30**

 _One less thing to worry about._ Lydia thought to herself as she sighed in relief. The next few hours were going to be quiet. Her eyes never left sight of the holographic map. Snake was making his way around the compound, probably examining every inch of it before deciding his next move. They were running out of time, but it was no use if Snake was rushed. Rushing leads to mistakes…and in this case…a nuclear fall-out. Hands fell on her shoulders and started to squeeze gently. Strong thumbs found their way under her shoulder-blades to massage out any stress. "Ugh." Lydia groaned out and let her head fall limp.

"We've got this, Lydia. _Snake's_ got this." Kaz's voice came from behind her. "If there's anyone who can do it, it's going to be us."

"I sure hope so, Mr. Optimistic. And now we've got two missing persons to worry about."

"They'll turn up eventually." Kaz had worry behind his voice. "We'll find them." He slid his hands off her shoulders and returned them to his sides. Kaz walked around her chair and into her view. He towered over the intel table and examined it intensely.

"Maybe if you stare at it long enough, Peace Walker will show up." Lydia joked.

"Ha, if only."

The hours flew by with nothing from Snake. The lack of sleep was getting to everyone. The anticipation and adrenaline kept them awake, but it was almost getting to be too much. The next event was marked in the early morning. Among the various beeping and quieted conversations, a faint static sound started to crackle through the radio speakers. "Hey, hey, hey!" Lydia slapped herself in the face a couple of times before leaning in toward the radio. "Someone's trying to come through!"

* * *

 **November 23, 1974: 03:00**

"I'd better get moving." It was Snake! He sounded out of it. Like his mind was on something else. Nonetheless, it was good to hear his voice after waiting so long!

"There's still no sign that Peace Walker's been activated." Huey glanced over the holographic projections on the table.

"Snake, we haven't detected any signs that Peace Walker's been activated," Kaz reiterated. "At least from above ground, that is."

"Good." Snake responded.

"Peace Walker should still be in the hangar you were in earlier. This time, it's _really_ our last chance. Destroy that AI!" Kaz briefed.

"On my way." Snake said dully. Then there was radio silence.

"Lydia, it might take him a while to get back into the hangar undetected. You should get all the rest you can."

"Yeah." Her head started to pulse from the exhaustion. She walked to a chair and sat in it. "If you guys don't mind, I'll snooze in here. It would be a good idea if we had a chopper ready to deploy to give Snake the back up he needs. Is Raven and Morpho still in the area?"

"Good idea, the iDroid is picking up their position around the coast. There no more than twenty minutes out." Kaz nodded. "I'll give them a heads up right away."

"Thank you, Kaz. Wake me when the world is ending."

"Heh, you got it." Lydia folded her arms on the edge of the table in the middle of the room and rested her head on them. A few minutes passed until sleep took her.

It was 05:30 when she was rustled awake by Kaz. Snake had come on over the radio. "We've been tracking his movements, he's made it." Kaz nodded.

"I'm in the hangar. I have my eyes on the Mammal Pod."

"It's too late, Big Boss." Another voice…American…sounded itself boldly though the speaker.

"Coldman…" Kaz gritted his teeth at the vocal recognition.

"Snake!" Paz's voice rang through next, echoing around the room as if someone had fired a gun.

"Paz?!" Kaz and Lydia blurted. "Coldman has her?! But how?!" Kaz exclaimed, hitting his fist on the edge of the table.

"At last I found her. The culprit who led you here to begin with. Should have taken care of her back at the supply facility. The Mammal Pod is finished. Peace Walker's activation sequence is complete."

"Oh no, he's too late!" Huey ran his both his hands through his hair.

"How do we destroy it?" Lydia violently raised her voice over the radio chatter and stepped to the scientist. "Huey, _how_?!" She grabbed his collar. The look in his eyes reflected fear…so much _fear_.

"W-well…Peace Walker is fitted with several close-range weapons. We'd also planned for it to be able to enter enemy territory and self-detonate."

" _Wonderful_." Lydia rolled her eyes. "What exactly are we dealing with here?" She let go of his shirt and massaged her temples.

"Uhhhh t-there are flamethrowers - one in the front and one in the rear. Then there are S-mines. They're like clutter bombs. It scatters them from its leg hatches. And finally it has homing rockets that travel quite the distance…but it can't fire from too close."

"But there are the _flamethrowers_ if we get too close." Lydia snapped, almost mocking him. "So this thing is impossible to fight?!"

"I-it's…uhhh…with the Reptile Pod it's maneuvers are slow and it can only do so many. If the Mammal Pod is installed, then he's in a lot more trouble."

"-Peace Walker's initial target-" Coldman formed over the radio.

"Lydia!" Kaz interrupted the interrogation. "You need to listen to this!"

"-an offshore area in the Caribbean. The trade winds will scatter the fallout all over the surrounding region. Crops and fish will die, leaving plenty of free hands to help us mass-produce Peace Walker. Oho…and wouldn't you know, someone's gone and built a pesky little fortress there. Now who would do that? And right in the middle of the target zone, too. Oh well. All the better to test the warheads' CEP."

"You've GOT to be kidding me!" Lydia exclaimed. "We need to get all hands on deck, Kaz."

"Lydia, you go rally them. We need to be ready for anything." Kaz nodded.

"Got it." Lydia jogged out of the room and descended to the bottom floor of the command tower. She waltzed into a communications room that had access to all megaphones placed around the base.

"Attention MSF. Stop what you're doing and listen. This is your Sub-Commander. We are _literally_ in the midst of a nuclear threat. I need all personnel to their appropriate stations and be ready to take action. This is not a drill. Everyone report to your appropriate stations and wait for orders." Lydia hung up the megaphone controls. She ran back up the two flights of stairs until she emerged back into the control room.

"Stop them, Snake! Don't let 'em get away!" Kaz yelled in over the comms. Peace Walker was activated. It was on its way out! Over the radio there was a single gunshot.

"Ahhh Snake!" Huey called out, frantically running his fingers through his hair.

"What? What did I do?" Snake questioned.

"Snake, the pod's outfitted with a self-defense module. Upon detecting attack it aborts its command and enters small-target suppression mode. Right now, Peace Walker's highest priority target is you!" Snake groaned over the comms while a multitude of various noises echoed through the room. Huey began to talk Snake through Peace Walker's weaknesses and the methods that could aid in his success in bringing it down.

"Kaz, is morpho en route to Snake's position?" Lydia approached Kaz.

"Yeah." He was sweating nervously. "This isn't the end, we're gonna stop Peace Walker."

"We are." Lydia nodded her head. "Everyone should be at their stations and prepared.

"Mother Base, do you read me, this is Morpho. Morpho calling to Mother Base!"

"We hear you Morpho." Lydia answered his call.

"It looks like Peace Walker is losing control! But I see an enemy chopper headed this way!"

"Shoot that chopper down!" Lydia ordered. "It might take advantage of Peace Walker's state and lead it out of the area if it attacks!"

"Yes ma-" Morpho's comms were dead.

"Damn, he's down." Kaz sucked in air.

"Shit! Accepting fire from enemy chopper, we need to pull out! They have the upper hand!" Raven's voice protruded through Lydia's ears.

"Oh thank god." Lydia wanted to fall over. "Tell Morpho to abort, get out of there! We'll get you covered! We can't afford to lose any of you!"

"L-look!" Huey pointed to the table. The large red dot that indicated Peace Walker's position was getting away! The enemy chopper must have distracted it!

"Snake, it's getting away!" Kaz yelled.

Snake's tracker was moving across the map, a slow pace at first, and then faster. Through the comms, it sounded like he was riding on a horse!

"Just over that hill Snake, it's still in range!" Kaz motioned. "Lydia, I need you to go give orders to deploy all ships and air support to the area. We can't let Peace Walker get across the border."

"Ships?!"

"I told you we've been getting a lot of revenue." Kaz winked. How he could wink in a time like this was beyond her. "There's a room down the hall in 307. Some of our intelligence crew is in there waiting for their orders. Hurry!"

"Yessir." She jogged out of the room and ran into another control room that had been exclusively set up for intelligence and field support. About twenty officers were sitting behind a long string of tables placed across the room. The same map that was in the previous room was also stationed in this one. There were multiple red dots that displayed friendlies in the area. Peace Walker's location was also on the map and moving fast. Each member of the crew was armed with a communications set of their own, ready to take orders and give out intel. "Team, we need you to send every MSF hardware toward the Nicaraguan border. We cannot let this weapon make it that far." The day was just dawning. "We cannot let Peace Walker get away, we don't want another World War on our hands, not if we can stop it."

Peace Walker inched closer and closer to the border. Snake was right on it's tail! "Shit." Lydia bolted out of the room and returned to Kaz and Huey.

"Snake, the border is right there! Hurry!" Kaz pushed. They could only wait in anticipation as the blinking red dot made its way to the border before Snake could make it up the final stretch. Lydia frowned and sat in the chair she had pulled up to the table earlier.

"Kaz…" Snake spoke of the radio. Somber…slow…defeated. "Peace Walker's gone… They've got Paz, too."

"Yeah, but-" Kaz began but was abruptly cut off by Snake.

"Why, Kaz? What would Coldman want with Paz?"

"Paz with with the 'professor', i.e., the KGB. Once Coldman discovered that, he figured what was really going on between Paz and Gálvez."

"He's trying to figure out how the KGB plans to stop Peace Walker, and he thinks he can get the info from Paz." Snake finished the thought.

Lydia saw Kaz clench his fist. "That's crazy!" He shook his head. "Paz won't know anything."

"Yeah, well, he probably doesn't buy that." Snake sounded defeated again.

"…You think Gálvez has already been killed? By grabbing Paz, Coldman's saying…"

"'Stay out of this, or lose your client.'" Snake sighed over the comms at the realization.

"Dammit!" Kaz hit his closed fist on the table. "I can't believe we didn't realize what was going on before we lost contact with her."

"Don't have time for that, Kaz." Snake cut him off. Kaz brushed his hands through his blonde hair, brushing it back in frustration. "Paz needs our help."

"Right." Kaz agreed. "This isn't about money anymore. You better move. We know where they're headed."

* * *

 **Spoiler Alert: They're headed to Hideo Kojima's private getaway.**


	41. Chapter 41

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise!**

 **Author's Note: Omg you guys, I just noticed we're over 40 chapters (I'm probably going to say the same thing when we get to 50!)! I just couldn't wait until Monday to get you guys to this chapter. SO HERE IT IS.**

 **Guest K:** Thank you for the review! I look forward to it every time I post! Raven's the man! ;D He didn't have too much of an appearance last chapter but just you wait! Enjoy! :3

* * *

 **"I'm a runaway son of the nuclear A-bomb.**

 **I am the world's forgotten boy,**

 **The one who searches and destroys…**

 **Ain't got time to make no apology.**

 **Soul radiation in the dead of night,**

 **Love in the middle of a fire fight…**

 **Somebody gotta save my soul,**

 **Baby, detonate for me."**

 **-The Stooges**

* * *

By midday, Snake had reached Rio San Juan, Costa Rica; in close proximity to the Nicaraguan Border. Amanda had arranged for a colleague she knew in the area to smuggle Snake closer to the primary objective area. After the job was done, Kaz arranged for Amanda, Chico, and her people to be taken to safety. MSF just couldn't involve them in the situation any further. Nerves were still on edge as Mother Base awaited for Snake's arrival to the US Missile Base on the Southeastern shore of Nicaragua. The plant was located on a fresh-water lake called the Lago Cocibolca. It wasn't long until Snake's marker on the virtual mapped halted. "Snake, how are you doing?" Lydia called over after hours of silence.

"I've arrived. Something's not right…gate guard doesn't look too bad…"

"What do you think?" Kaz asked with concern in his voice.

"Gonna need some help." Snake responded.

"We have men in the area. Raven and Morpho are still on standby. There's also a larger fleet headed your way for back-up." Lydia spoke to hopefully put Snake at ease. Over static, she could hear the honking of the cargo truck Snake had harbored himself in.

"I'm out of the truck. Got in without a hitch." Lydia could only picture the grin on Snake's face at another successful infiltration. Kaz turned to Lydia and held up his hand for a high-five. Lydia smiled and slapped her hand against his.

Kaz studied the map around the marker before speaking with Snake. "Glad to hear it. There's an airfield on the other side of the building - on the Northwestern shore of the lake. That's where they'll conduct the launch. We show Peace Walker hasn't moved an inch yet. There's a communications tower in front of you. I'm betting they'll control Peace Walker from there." Miller caressed his own chin with his right hand, in deep thought about how Snake was going to pull it off.

"Kaz…Lydia…They're targeting Mother Base. Don't you think you should evacuate?"

Lydia and Kaz shared the same look. She glanced into his bright blue eyes filled with the same kind of concern. In that moment, it wasn't just their lives that were important. The rest of the world was at stake. Kaz brought up his right hand and placed it on top of Lydia's left shoulder. Lydia believed in Snake, and she knew Kaz did as well. "No way…Everyone here believes in you, Boss." Kaz squeezed Lydia's shoulder.

"If we're going out, we went out trying our best as a team."

"Heh, alright, fine then. I've kinda gotten attached to the place myself." Snake chuckled light-heartedly as possible through the comms.

"Snake…don't forget they have Paz." Kaz reminded him as he took his hand off of Lydia.

"I won't." Anger filled his voice…resentment.

"The back-up units are on their way. Don't let 'em launch, Snake. We're all counting on you."

"I'm on my way. Over and out."

"Over and out." Kaz ended the transmission. Lydia felt a knot in her stomach. Well, more than one…maybe six fisherman's knots to be exact. "Lydia?" Kaz kindly spoke to grab her attention.

"Hm?" Lydia looked down from the map and up to Kaz.

"I have to go to him." Kaz spoke. "I'm going to rally the rest of the team and leave you with a skeleton crew; we'll take off with the rest of the choppers we have left."

"Do what you have to do. Snake is going to need all the help he can get."

"I trust you to lead things here in my place." Kaz grabbed a hold of her hand and pulled her toward him. His left hand cradled the back of her head as he brought her in for a surprising kiss. It went by so fast Lydia didn't even have time to register. "That's just in case if I don't make it back." Lydia heard Huey sigh across the room at the display of PDA.

"Kaz…you're going to make it back." Lydia punched him in the arm. "You have a promise to keep, don't you?"

"Yeah." He smiled. "I sure do." His hand lingered on her neck before he slowly slid it off.

"Alright, get out of here. Everyone should be in their positions." Lydia nodded her head with confidence.

"Sayonara." Kaz bid farewell and swiftly walked out of the room.

"Well Huey…it's just me and you."

"Are you and Miller…?" Lydia sighed at the very first question to come out of his mouth.

"I think we have more important things to worry about Huey." Lydia continued.

"Snake, do you read me? This is Lydia." Lydia called over the comms, there was silence. He was probably not in a good area to talk. "Just to let you know, the room that you're trying to get to should be on the top of the command center. Hopefully you can find Paz's location on the way. Good luck and keep us updated. Over and out." Lydia finished and rested her hands on the edge of the table.

"So what next?" Huey asked as he rolled beside her.

"The waiting game. Hopefully for the last time today."

The time was 13:00 before Snake called in. He had made it to the central tower. "This is Snake, do you copy?"

"Loud and clear." Lydia responded.

"I made it to the monitoring room in the control tower. I'm looking for a way to shut everything down."  
"Sounds good." The comms went silent. A few minutes had passed before some type of alarm went off over the speakers that Snake was transmitting through.

"They found me!" Snake grunted.

Another voice joined the party. "Snake!" It was Kaz! Lydia sighed with relief to hear his voice. "All MSF's ready to move out. They're headed your way on the double."

"Are you serious?"

"There's a skeleton crew manning the base being led by Lydia and Emmerich. Everyone else is en route to the base in Nicaragua." Lydia smiled to herself.

"Snake, you think you can make it to that control tower?" Lydia asked.

"Not sure why, bit this place is crawling with Russian troops. Gonna have to force my way through."

"What the hell's going on?" Kaz asked.

"Damned if I know." Snake grunted.

"Snake, get over there as quick as you can. You're almost there, Snake. Stay steady!"

"You got this Snake, we have your back." Lydia added. She kept an eye on Snake's position on the map.

"Here goes nothing." Snake spoke before he cut out his radio.

* * *

 **Raven: November 23, 1974: 13:30**

"Morpho! Drop me down outside the US missile base!" Raven called out.

"You got it, Raven!" Morpho maneuvered the helicopter to the front of the place. He could hear explosions through the whirring blades the closer they got to the ground. "The other guys should be here shortly! Let Commander Miller know where I am. I have a feeling Snake is going to need back-up.

"In that case, why don't you take the present I brought you?"

"Present?" Raven asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah! Why don't you look under your seat, Big Bird?" Raven stepped out of his seat and went prone to examine quite the weapon just chilling out under his seat.

"Big Bird?" Raven scoffed to himself. "God I hope that doesn't stick. Does the Commander know you have this?" Raven wrapped his hands around the large weapon and began to pull it out.

"I happen bring it along just in case!" Morpho laughed.

"Heh. Now _that's_ what I call forward thinking." In his arms, Raven held the _Dragon_ of all missile launchers, the M47.

"Glad to be of service, sir!" He slung the launcher over his back safely and armed himself with the two extra rounds it came with. Once close to the ground for a comfortable landing, Raven jumped off and safely onto the ground. He pulled out a small sub-machine gun as his side-arm and proceeded through the heavily guarded base.

"Snake, this is Raven. Do you copy?" No answer. "Damn." Raven continued his way through. Up ahead, he saw the smoke of an explosion and an enemy bird descend into an area a small journey ahead. The chopper was obviously distracted with something. "I have a feeling that's where Boss is." Raven chuckled to himself.

"Hey! Stop right there!" A voice bellowed from a few meters to the north.

Raven turned his attention to four men who were bundled close together. _Well that's tactical!_ Raven inwardly criticized their grouping pattern. Then men were readying their weapons, but they weren't fast enough. Raven unhooked a grenade from his belt and pulled the pin. With a perfect lob, the grenade landed right in the center of the men.

"FRAG OU-" The explosion cut off the rest. _Didn't even stand a chance. At least I'm on the right track._ Raven made his way past the deceased men and body-parts and ran into the next area. Not too far ahead, he could hear the bullets from the helicopter pierce through metal trying to shoot at something…that something being Boss.

"Nobody messes with Boss." Raven huffed as he emerged into the next room. In the distance, ducking behind cover was Snake, not really armed for dealing with such weaponry. Raven vaulted over the small wall that separated himself from cover. He readied the launcher by loading the missile and hoisting the weapon over his shoulder. In his field of vision, Raven aimed at the nose of the bird, which was still preoccupied with taking down Snake.

"Boss! Take cover!" Raven called out. "Kiss your ass goodbye!" With a pull of the trigger, the missile launched from the barrel with a powerful noise. The projectile collided with the nose of the helicopter. Totally destroyed. It crashed to the ground in flames and with a large thud. "Hot _damn_ , that is one powerful piece of equipment!" Raven cheered as he stood up. "Boss?! You ok?!"

Snake stood up from cover now that the coast was clear. Raven jogged up to him. "Here, I brought you a present. You might need it more than I do."

"You son of a bitch." Snake, impressed, took the M47 and holstered it behind his shoulders.

"Here's some extra ammo." Raven held out the other two missiles for the M47. Morpho is around if you need more. I'll follow you and cover you from behind! Let's get to that tower!" Raven saluted Boss before he booked it toward the next area. Raven stood patiently with his sub-machine gun at the ready. "Bring it on."

They both ascended up a cargo elevator and finally made it to the top floor. Once the doors opened, Snake readied his AR and Raven his Sub-Machine gun. Without a moment's notice, they lunged into the room!

"Snake!" The familiar, petite voice rang through Raven's ears.

"Paz?!" Raven called out. She was standing up on a platform next to Coldman. It didn't take long for the rest of the room to surround them with arms ready. They had walked into a death-trap it seemed. Up a few levels enemy soldiers stood with guns glued to the two. There was no escape...

"Big Boss, you made it." Coldman snickered from where he was standing. "Too late, though. The false data's already in place."

"False data?" Snake questioned, not letting his guard down.

"That's right!" Coldman bellowed. "Peace Walker is designed for deterrence - nothing more. She is incapable of initiating a nuclear attack on her own. She will _only_ awaken and attack when it's time to retaliate. Peace Walker is a weapon of _peace,_ after all."

"You've got one fucked up definition of 'peace'." Raven mocked, staying ready to brace a wave of bullets at any moment.

"Heh. So you think! We'll enter data for an imaginary society nuclear strike on the US homeland. After assessing the data as a threat, Peace Walker will automatically enter retaliation mode, selecting the optimal target from a pre-defined list. For this scenario, we have reverse engineered the false data so that she'll inevitable end up choosing the Caribbean Sea as her target."

Snake narrowed his eye. Raven could tell he was trying everything to not pull the trigger right then and there. "You're really gonna do it, aren't you?"

"Heh! Know this: Peace Walker's retaliation will be the _first_ and _last_ of the Cold War. It is the only way we will ever come close to achieving true peace…" Coldman brought up a suitcase that was hand-cuffed to his wrist. He opened it to reveal it had boxed in a laptop. The final piece to fully activating Peace Walker! "All that I need to do is enter the code."

Snake and Raven readied their guns for fire, aiming them both right at Coldman. "You do that and you'll have bullets in your brain." Raven sneered.

"No!" Snake was ready to pull the trigger.

"Stand down, Big Boss." A familiar, deep, voice echoed through the chamber. Raven pivoted on his left heel and turned around to surprisingly meet a familiar face in a white suit. "Gálvez?!"

"Professor?" Snake sounded confused. Coldman only sighed at Gálvez's entry.

"You're late."

"Yes, well…taking over the base took longer than expected." He wore a sly grin on his face that upset Coldman, shocking him to no end. "I brought the technology, you provided the money and land. Tsentr alone could never have accomplished do much in so little time."

"Zadornov, you _backstabbing_ son of a-!"

"Backstabbing?" Gálvez casually walked closer to Coldman with his hands in his pockets. "' _Backstabbing_ '? Correct me if I'm wrong, but were we not enemies all along? Do you really think my comrades were working for the _company_? Do you truly think we'd faithfully serve a pack of depraved capitalist dogs?"

"What are you going to do?" Coldman held the box closer to his chest.

"Launch a nuke…target: Cuba." Snake and Raven looked at each other. Was he bluffing? How did Gálvez get here in the first place? Was he planning this all along?!

"Have you lost your mind?!" Coldman lost it. "What could you possibly gain?!"

"We won't be the ones launching it." Gálvez grinned. "You, the _Americans_ , will attack our ally, Cuba. Think Coldman. We're on an American base, eagerly endorsed and supplied by a pro-American regime. What's the international community to think?" The grin on Gálvez's face grew. Mania started to fill his eyes. "The world will burn with Anti-American sentiment! Communism will spread across Latin America unchecked. Let the age of deterrence be undone by the deterrent itself…such is the Kremlin's plan." Gálvez made his way up the small stair-case to be level with Coldman. All they could do was watch as the situation unfolded.

"You son of a bitch!" Coldman insulted. That was all he could do. Gálvez snatched Paz and pulled her toward him. She was caught off guard. Snake and Raven pointed their guns to Gálvez, not really knowing what to think.

"Shoot him." He ordered to Paz quietly.

"Professor Gálvez?"

"Hm…I am Vladimir Zadornov." He raised an eyebrow, getting uncomfortably close to her face. It nearly made Raven sick. "And Vladimir means 'ruler of peace'. Now do as you're told, _Paz_." He meshed a pistol in her hand and held it tight with his mechanical arm. He forced her to aim the gun at Coldman, whom was beginning to beg for his life.

"Gálvez?! What do you think you're doing?! Are you crazy?!" Raven blurted out.

"Keep your mouth shut, _boy_! Did you not hear me?!" _Zadornov_ cut him off. "Now Paz, remember what they did to you at their base on the coast. For what Coldman's done…he deserves nothing less than death." Zadornov removed his bionic arm and stepped away from Paz, awaiting for her to pull the trigger and end the life of the man that aided in pain and suffering of her country.

"Paz! You don't have to do this! You don't want death on your conscience!" Raven blurted out.

"Paz…I'm sorry!" Coldman was wetting himself while he stared down the barrel of the gun. Paz's arm shook and then slowly started to fall to her side.

"I can't." She sounded defeated.

"Truly a child of peace." Zadornov spat, almost disgusted. He returned to her side and assumed control of her arm and the gun. He forced her arm up again and pulled the trigger…twice. Coldman fell to the ground with a loud groan. No fatal shots…yet. Paz instantly fell to her knees at the sight of what she had been forced to do. Fear, regret, sadness, shock...all those feelings reflected off her face as she stared in shock at the bleeding-out body of Coldman. "Only fitting that retribution be delivered by a 'dead hand'." Zadornov mocked. He bent down and picked up the key-card that carried the software to activate Peace Walker.

"You made her miss on purpose!" Zadornov kicked his foot planted against Coldman's chest, smothering him. "Your part isn't done. I need you to enter the code." Coldman yelped in pain as he was kicked on more time. Zadornov brought his left hand up to his ear and began to talk through some type of remote radio communications device. "Doctor, the target is now Cuba. Please make the necessary modifications. And don't even think of resisting. I'll crush you, but only after I crush your 'beloved' AI, first. Cuba is now the retaliation target." There was a pause before he continued. Both of their weapons still steady on Zadornov. "Good it's done. As for you Big Boss, I've been watching you all along. You've performed beyond even my highest expectations - a true comandante." Zadornov turned toward the party of two and rested his hand to his side.

"What are you talking about?" Snake narrowed his eye.

"Heh, why do you think I summoned you to Costa Rica, had you make contact with the Sandinistas? A true intelligence operative never gets his hands dirty. Need a revolution? Manipulate the locals into doing it for you."

"You mean Amanda and her people?!" Raven blurted out, anger starting to swell in his belly.

"Heh. Precisely." Zadornov clapped his hands together at Raven's discovery. "You've done well, Big Boss. You took a ragtag band of guerrillas - children - and shaped them into a full-fledged, formidable army."

"You've got to be kidding me! They would never be partied with the likes of you!" Raven fought. There was a light static emitting through Raven's ear piece.

"Aye, Big Bird." It was Morpho. "You've got Commander Miller and some friendlies coming up in the elevator behind you guns loaded and ready to get some. I would duck or something."

 _Damn._ Raven thought to himself wanting to give Snake a signal. He didn't want to ruin the surprise. Raven began to slowly step back and toward the elevator. Slow enough to not cause an alarm and have one of the hostiles start open fire. "With you dead, Big Boss, The Sandinistas will rise up in revenge, overthrowing the pro-American regime and wresting Nicaragua from US hands. And the nuclear strike on Cuba, naturally, will be the last straw." Zadornov made his way down the small flight of stairs again and onto level group with Snake and Raven. Raven stopped moving as Zadornov began to chuckle. "Dead at age 39…just like El Che. Ironic, isn't it?" Zadornov shook his head as he stood to Snake's right.

"You touch Boss and I'll put a bullet in your brain."

"You put a bullet in my brain and I'll remind you where you're standing, boy." Zadornov fought back, cocking his head back in pompous nature. "Besides…in the end, a legend is merely fiction. Your darling _Boss_ can't live forever." To Raven't surprise, Snake fell to his knees.

"Boss?! What are you-?!"

"You'll die as The Boss did and become, as did she, an eternal fraud." Zadornov pulled out his pistol one more time and readied it to fire at Snake. The barrel pointing at his frontal lobe. Raven narrowed his eyes, gun still ready. _Any minute now._ Raven thought to himself as he could hear the squeaking of the freight elevator come to a halt. As soon as the door opened, Commander Miller was barking out orders. Gun fire filled the room and the whirring of bullets swam around them. The men up top surrounding fell one by one as both MSF and Sandinista soldiers began to flood the room from every opening!

Zadornov began to scurry away in fear while he put his hands over his head ears to dull out the noise. Raven bolted to Boss and helped him up, swiftly, in no time he was back in action. "Boss, you hurt?"

"I'm fine." Boss answered as he fired off a few shorts. From Raven's peripheral vision, Amanda vaulted herself over one of the railings up top and landed to Zadornov's side. She lifted up her leg and kicked him right in the side. Zadornov, with a loud groan, toppled over. The bigger they are the harder the fall.

"Bien trabajo!" Raven cheered the brunette who now held her AR to Zadornov's back. She sure knew how to move coming right out of the medical bay.

"We will not be pawns of the KGB. We will win our own victory!" Amanda declared, pushing the barrel up against the frightened man's back.

Chico ran up to Amanda's side and pointed his AR at the pathetic man as well. "Hasta la victoria siempre!" The last of the KGB grunts had fallen, the room was now filled with cheers and hurrahs.

"Amanda!" One of the Sandinistas waved her down. "We're home! Look, we're back in Nica! We did it Amand-I mean…Comandante!" Raven smiled to himself and the look on Amanda's face brightened. She had come far. With her gun still on the surrendered Zadornov, Amanda turned her head to Raven and flashed him a smile. Her green eyes moved to Snake, whom was still getting his bearings together.

"It's all thanks to you…Vic Boss!"

"Vic Boss! Vic Boss!" Cheers and hoots around the room started to echo and repeat. Snake grinned to himself and stood tall, taking it all in. He eyed Amanda as she lowered her gun from the shaken Zadornov. She closed the distance between herself and Boss with a smile plastered on her face.

"You're a regular Joan of Arc." Snake complimented.

Amanda only chuckled and crashed her neck from side to side. "Nonsense, you're the hero here." She shrugged.

"You saved my life. You're the heroes, here."

Amanda was taken aback. She let out a small series of soft laughs and placed her right hand on her hip. "Heh. I never figured you for a softie, Snake."

" _Softie_." Raven shook his head and laughed to himself at the word.

"Thanks, it's good to see you." Snake held out his hand, waiting for her to grab it for a shake. Amanda outstretched her arm and bypassed his hand all-together. She grabbed onto his forearm and pulled him right toward her, bringing him in for an embrace. Raven sighed to himself as a hand rested on his shoulder.

"Well what do you think of that?" Raven looked to his left to spot Miller.

"I think he needed a hug." Raven smiled to himself. "Besides, it's a mission complete. God knows it was a tough one."

"No kidding." Miller laughed lightly and removed his hand. "Thanks for being there for Boss, I knew it was a good idea to send you in." Miller extended his hand for shake.

"Whatever I can do to help." Raven nodded. "Don't worry, I won't pull _you_ in for a hug." Raven winked and shook his Commander's hand.

As the celebration died down, MSF began to regroup outside the control tower and load back onto the birds. Morpho was there, awaiting the arrival of his best bud and the higher-ups. Miller, Raven, and Snake made their way up to Morpho. A big weight was lifted off of their shoulders. One by one, multiple helicopters filled with troops started to take off and begins heir journey back to Mother Base. "Paz can stay with us until she's back on her feet." Miller broke the silence.

"And the 'Professor'?" Snake questioned as he lit up a cigar.

"We'll find him a nice, comfy cell. Coldman, on the other hand, has lost a lot of blood. He may not make it."

"Would you like to take a look, Commander?" Raven raised an eyebrow.

"I've already got guys on it. He doesn't deserve your talents." Miller responded and shrugged. Coldman could die for all Raven cared.

"Where's Amanda?" Snake asked.

"Back with her compas." Miller climbed his way into Morpho's chopper. "She'll catch up later…How about you Snake?"

"I'm not done here, yet." Snake solemnly responded, shifting the heavy launcher strapped around his shoulders.

"You mean the AI?" Miller questioned.

"I have to finish this." Snake frowned and deviated his gaze to the cold, concrete platform. "That Boss is a fake. I'm gonna bury it."

"Raven, let's get a move on." Miller nodded for him to hop aboard. Raven obeyed his command and climbed into Morpho as well. Across the small cabin sat Paz, trying everything in her power to hold in tears. On the other side sat the scum Zadornov. Coldman was lying on a small stretcher near the rear of the cabin, with no one attending to him. _Looks like this is going to be one interesting chopper ride home._ Raven shrugged. He sat down in the small unoccupied seat next to Paz. "We'll save the champagne until you get back, Snake. May as well celebrate peace…while it lasts. We'll be on standby."

"Morpho, let's move out." Raven called. Miller shut the sliding door and sat in one of the chairs as morpho started to levitate off the ground. Once high up in the air, Paz started to sob. Raven turned his head toward the petite, frail girl whom had given it her all. She must had been so scarred to shoot someone. Raven's head snapped to Zadornov whom was in his corner looking guilty enough.

"Paz…I'm going to ask something of you." Miller sighed. Any type of women in need was a weakness if his…no matter the age it seemed. "Don't pick up a gun unless you know how to use it, alright? Aiming a weapon alone doesn't make it a deterrent." Tears started to fall more rapidly from her cheeks. She didn't wipe them away, no matter how many flooded from her eyes. Miller leaned froward in his seat to try and get a better look at her face beyond her curly blonde hair. "You're the angel of peace. Leave the guns to us. That was our agreement, remember?" Miller leaned back in his seat with a happy sigh. "The army's leaving Costa Rica now. The mission is complete." There was silence. She just kept crying, her lip twitching as if she wanted to form a smile. As if she wanted to _force_ a smile. "Paz?"

Miller snaked his head to try and get a better look at her face again…but the maneuver wasn't needed until she sat up straight with a soft smile spread across her lips. It was a look of both uncertainty and happiness. With her right hand, Paz held up the sign for victory…or in her case…for peace. "Thank you." She choked out, forming the smile on her face they were all looking for.

Out of the rear of the cabin, Coldman started to groan more than before. As Paz's head began to turn, Raven followed suit to see Coldman moving just fine. The briefcase from before was open, and he was entering something in. With each click of a button, sweat beaded down Raven's brow. _Is this guy crazy?! Is he really trying to activate Peace Walker?!_ "Miller!" Raven lunged out of his seat and toward Coldman whom had just pushed an activation button of some kind.

A loud, piercing noise emitted from the contraption Coldman held in his weak hands. His chuckle was deafened by his weak nature. "Nnnngh!" Coldman started to seize, his eyes were nearly bursting out of his head. Raven smacked the case out of his grip and grasped onto he dying man's collar.

"What did he do?!" Miller nearly jumped out of his seat.

"I should have killed you when I had the chance!" Zadornov cursed from his seat.

"NORAD's nightmare is about to begin." Raven shook his collar.

"What do you mean, you son of a bitch?!" Raven threw Coldman's torso hard to the cot.

"Peace Walker…determined retaliation targets…based on enemy nuclear strike data. That data…can be sent…to third parties, as well…"

"Are you fucking serious you crazy bastard?!"

"When I activated Peace Walker, it started transmitting the false data set to NORAD. It's using a spread spectrum MLF signal…it can't be blacked out even by EMP.  
"Shit!" Miller stayed put in his chair. "We got big problems, Snake." Miller called to him over the comms. "Coldman's activated the nuclear launch switch!" There was a pause before he continued. "Yeah, the target's Cuba. But that's not it. The son of a bitch has screwed us all over. Peace Walker has been transmitting false data to NORAD. There's no way to tell the difference between false data and the real thing on a radar screen. NORAD will have no idea it's all a ruse generated by Peace Walker! Snake, they'll think is a real Soviet attack! From there, they'll pass on the data to the National Military command center…" Miller narrowed his eyes on the struggling Coldman. "This could get ugly. Unless we stop it, we're looking at a retaliatory chain-reaction!"

"No!" Coldman choked out with a grin. "No need to panic. The nightmare will end soon enough."

"What do you mean?!" Raven interrogated.

Zadornov cleared his throat. "Coldman's aim is for the bureaucrats in Washington to see the importance of a machine like Peace Walker. He's trying to prove that humans don't possess the will to launch nukes."

The look on Coldman's face almost looked peaceful in a frightening sense the closer the man got to death's door. "Everything will be fine." Coldman grinned like a cheshire cat. "They'll never retaliate. They're only human…"

"Lydia." Kaz chimed over the radio again. "I need you to find the president. You need to get in contact with the US defense ASAP…wait…what do you mean?" Sweat started to stick to Miller face as he listened to news from Sub-C. "Snake…the President and VP…they're not even in the US right now. He's apparently in the middle of Salt II negotiations in Vladivostok. Next person to talk to would be the Speaker."

"President, Vice President…not one among them has the courage to push the button. No one willing to enter history as the Great Destroyer. In the end, it's not their lived that people value most…it's their reputations!" The crack-case spoke again, seemingly falling in and out of consciousness.

"I'm getting real tired of hearing you talk." Raven's eye twitched, wanting to bad to put a bullet between his eyes. The ramblings of an old man were starting to get old.

"Peace Walker is the perfect deterrent. Cuba would not have been my choice of targets…but you can't make peace without breaking a few eggs. Now that Peace Walker has the false data…retaliation is inevitable."

"Are you insane?!" Miller jumped out of his seat. "You think it'll end there?! Your'e about to unleash all-out nuclear war!" Kaz paused as if listening to his radio. "Lydia, I need you to find out what's going on at NORAD! Try to get through to them! Dammit, I don't care if they still think you're still a soviet sympathizer, tell them this is serious!"

"Heh, the only one who knows the abort code…is me." Coldman barely got out. "I die and no one can turn it off. Even if they do strike back…I'll already…be dead…"

"Some last hurrah you have, pal." Raven spat.

"I can only pray…that my theory…my peace…is proven right." With every last ounce of his strength, Coldman held up his own sign for victory to the heavens before he flat-lined. Raven clenched his fist together. What kind of victory is is if nobody wins? Peace isn't obtained through all-out nuclear war. That crazy son of a bitch might go to hell knowing he had won. With Peace Walker activated, the false data was being transmitted and there's no way to stop it and the firing of it's nuke unless…Peace Walker is destroyed for good.

"Snake, at all costs, don't let Peace Walker launch that nuke!" Miller yelled out.

"Hold on tight!" Morpho called out to the staff in the chopper. "We're coming back around! We'll provide back-up if needed. Boss is gonna need a lot more ammo if he's going to take that baby out!"

"Hold onto your butts!" Raven sat down in his chair as Morpho picked up speed, turning around to head back into the danger zone. Out of the window, Peace Walker was preparing itself to launch the nuke! Snake was on the platform readying the M47 to fire. "I'm getting out!" Raven called. "Morpho, get closer to landing position, I'm going to descent a rope!"

"You got it, Big Bird!"

"Good luck Raven!" Miller shouted as Raven opened the door. Raved grabbed a rope from a small cargo hold on the ceiling of the chopper and fastened it to the bird. "Here goes nothing!" Raven prepared himself and jumped out the helicopter, sliding down the rope. He ran out of rope about four feet from the ground. Despite the stinging in his feet, it was a fair landing. Morpho flew back out of target range and into the distance, awaiting for any supply call if necessary.

Raven readied his sub-machine gun and jogged up to Snake. "Need a hand?"

"Heh, let's just stop this launch for good, kid."

"Took the words right out of my mouth." With the first rocket out with a direct hit to it's hard AI shell, Peace Walker ceased it's count-down. The monstrous bipedal machine turned its attention to the duo. It didn't move for a moment or two. It towered over them, intimidating as hell. "No telling when it's gonna do that again! Let's move!"


	42. Chapter 42

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS franchise!**

 **Author's Note: Hey everyone and welcome to chapter fourty-freakin-two! Here is the next installment :) I saw on my profile I had the wrong release date, so that's my bad :') lol. This one is kind of on the short side, but I hope you all enjoy it! :3**

 **Guest K:** Thank you, thank you! WHAAAAAAT?! YOU NEED TO PLAY PEACE WALKER, DUDE. Go bet a PS3 and get the HD collection, it's just fantastic, so much lore...and it makes GZ just all that more heartbreaking :'(

 **Guest:** Glad to be here! I'm very happy you enjoyed the last chapter; thank you for your continuing support! 3

 **CaptainMc** : Thank you for another review! :) Here is the next one!

* * *

 **"When heavens divide,**

 **I will see the choices within my hands.**

 **How can we ever protect and fight with our tiny souls?**

 **Let me shine like the sun through the doubts and fear.**  
 **Do you feel the storm approach as the end draws near?**

 **When heavens divide,**

 **Time will come to softly lay me down.**

 **Then I can see her face that I long to see.**

 **And for you, only you I would give anything,**

 **Leaving a trace for love to find a way…**

 **When heavens divide."**

 **-Donna Burke**

* * *

The loud screech from Peace Walker could be heard for miles with its bellow. Manuvering its massive four legs, the machine got in position, low to the ground. The hinges in the legs unlocked the lower it got to the ground. "Jump engaged." The robotic voice announced. With a spring, Peace Walker leapt into the air and landed on the opposite side of the platform. The whole base quaked at its landing. "Firing drill missiles."

"Aim for the AI pods!" Snake called out.

"Got it!" Out of one of the weapon's cargo-holds, large drill-like objects fell out and buried themselves into the base's solid concrete. "I've got a bad feeling about this!" Raven ceased his fire and looked around. Four missiles had been deployed, but where were they? The vibrations through his boots only got more intense the longer he stood still. _Awh crap!_ Raven looked down to see the concrete beneath him start to crack. One of the missiles was digging its way back up and headed right for him! "Snake, I think these things are homing!" Raven yelled, fleeing from the area.

Snake followed suit and ran to another location, just in time to escape a small explosion. Before Raven had known, Peace Walker initiated another jump sequence. For such a big object it sure did move fast! _The bigger they are, the harder they fall._ Raven followed Peace Walker with his eyes until it smashed to the ground with another earth-shaking landing. Around its orbital head, a red ring started to emit with some type of electrical charge. "EM Pulse at maximum."

"EM? Snake! Whatever you do, don't file a rocket! It won't affect it! Keep to your guns!" Raven yelled as he reloaded his weapon. "The pulse will make the rounds blow up from a safe distance from Peace Walker. Shoot it enough with regular ammo so it disengages!" Snake and Raven opened fire. Bullets shredded the AI's hard cocoon.

"Firing rocket launcher."

"Move!" Snake hollered. Raven bolted in the opposite direction of Snake. Before him, he took cover behind some heavy-duty supply sheds. The rockets started to go off one by one. When the sound of explosions dissipated, Raven peeked his head out from cover. The EM ring was gone! Looks like Snake had shot it enough to render it inactive! Across the platform, Snake was readying the M47 for another go.

"I'll cover you!" Raven darted out from cover and into Peace Walker's direct line of sight. He shot the exposed AI pod repeatedly until his sub-machine gun jammed. "Shit." Raven threw the gun around his back with a huff. Peace Walker manevered its legs toward him. He could see the flames arise from the lower part of its body as it readied its flame thrower. "Shit!" Raven exclaimed a little louder. He reached into his right cargo pant-pocket and pulled out a blue flare.

"Initiating flame thrower."

"Get down!" Boss was ready to fire! Raven leapt and rolled out of the line of fire and into safety. The strong explosion from the M47 sent a heat-wave in all directions. Raven cracked open the flare and tossed the blue-smoking baton in a clear area.

"I see your flare! What do you need?" Morpho called over the radio. "Sub machine gun ammo and any M47's you got! Snake's probably almost out and I'm dry. If you wanna send a couple rockets into Peace Walker that's be great, too!"

"On it, Big Bird. Watch out, Boss! Morpho in hot!" Morpho emerged from the clouds above and descended. Ammo boxes nonchalantly fell to the ground from parachutes, ready for use! "Firing rockets!" Multiple rockets from Morpho ejected and flew right into Peace Walker with a direct hit on it's head! "Pulling out! I've still got precious cargo!"

"Nice shooting!" Raven called as he picked up some of the ammo.

"Jump engaged." Peace Walker jumped again, this time beyond their line of fire. "Launch angle set. Opening missile hatch." The nuclear shaft opened as Peace Walker readied itself for fire.

"She's going back into nuclear launch mode!" Peace Walker was smoking now, probably not much left to it. Without a word, Snake ran as fast as he could in Peace Walker's direction so he could get a direct hit. Raven finished picking up all the ammo and followed suit.

"One minute until launch."

"Stop her, Snake!" Miller ordered through the comms. Up ahead, Snake knelt to the ground and readied the M47 for it's last launch.

"Open fire and don't stop!" Raven stood at Snake's side and dropped an M47 shell into his hand; then began to fire on the AI pod positioned below its head.

"Thirty seconds until launch." Each second was agonizing. As Raven depleted his bullets, he loaded in his last clip. "Ten second until launch."

"Snake! Do it!" Raven unloaded every bullet he had as the beast counted down the last seconds until fallout. With a near-deafening launch, Snake shot his last round to the M47. Raven stopped firing, following the tail of the rocket as it made its way toward the AI on the third second. "Two. One. Fi-" The impact was another direct hit! It set of a chain of explosions on Peace Walker, the small shock-waves causing Raven to stumble backward. The roaring AI screeched with it's final invisible breath before collapsing to the ground.

Snake stood up and gathered his composure. The sweat off his brow was glistening in the dull sunlight. Raven laughed to himself and sighed. "We did it."

"It stopped moving…Raven…Sake…you did it. You stopped the launch!" Miller shakily congratulated.

"Lydia, Huey! How's NORAD?!" Snake called over.

"Not good!" Huey responded. "You've only damaged the drive system…the data uplink's still intact…"

"That and they aren't hailing us!" Lydia sounded over. "Right now, they're seeing 1,500 Soviet ICBMS crossing the North Pole and headed straight for the West coast of the US!"

"How do I make it stop?!" Snake clenched his fist as he bolted to the downed Peace Walker.

"Peace Walker is a fully autonomous system." Huey butted in. "Unlike the other machines you've fought, its command authorities are all located inside its cerebrum, the Mammal Pod."

"So I guess we stop the Mammal Pod. Coldman was the only one with the abort code and he's down under." Raven added.

"Snake! Destroy the AI inside the Mammal Pod!" Miller yelled. Snake began to shoot at it, but it was no use.

"The inner barrier protecting the Mammal Pod is designed to be as strong as a bomb shelter." Huey spoke.

"What's it gonna take to get through?" Snake retaliated.

"I guess an atomic bomb could do it." Raven could hear a loud slapping noise through the comms.

"You trying to be funny?!" Snake shouted.

"No!" Huey defended himself. "I'm telling you, that armor was designed to withstand a nuclear war!"

"Lydia, call the Pentagon. We have to tell them the nukes aren't real!"

"I can try again, Snake. I'll call in through a secure line this time."

"Jesus…Coldman guessed wrong! They're gonna go through with it!" Kaz's voice came through the speakers again. Raven stared at Peace Walker. How could a machine like that be the cause of something so destructive?

"The platform's sustained a lot of external damage. All we need is some pressure…" Huey muttered off.

"Pressure?"

"That's it!" Huey had an epiphany. "Sink it in the lake! With that much water pressure, even the tiniest crack should be enough to flood the innards! The AI pod is a mass of highly sensitive electronics. Short the contacts and the signal will stop."

"How much does this thing weigh?" Raven questioned.

"Five-hundred tons."

"Now how the _hell_ do you expect two guys to move five-hundred tons, eh?" Raven sassed as he kicked Peace Walker's leg with his boot. "You piece of shit machine!"

"Get NORAD of the phone and tell them it's Big Boss." Snake calmly ordered.

"I'm calling the War Room using my old extension code. Let's hope the buy my bait." Lydia muttered over the line.

* * *

 **Lydia**

"Come on you pieces of shit, didn't your mothers never teach you how to pick up a god damn phone?!" Lydia smashed her right fist on the large intel table as she held the phone to her ear with her left.

"What is it?!" Someone finally picked up! "Why are you calling on this secure line?! Who is this?!"

"I need you to stop what you're doing right now and give the phone to the highest-ranking official you've got." Lydia demanded. "You hurry right now!"

"Just who the hell is this?!"

"Tell him it's Big Boss!" Lydia blurted out. There was silence on the other line, but she could hear the man shuffling around. "Snake, he's getting who's in charge. Raven, you still have the iDroid?"

"Yeah." He responded.

"Huey made it so we can wirelessly transfer the call to the device. Let's just hope the signal is good." Lydia hoped. "Huey, transfer the call. Snake, I'm sending him through."

"I've got it." Snake confirmed. Huey pressed a few buttons on a transmissions computer set up on the far side of the room.

"Transmission successful. Snake, he's all yours."

"Mr. Chairman, I'll get straight to the point." Snake began. Lydia brought her fingers up to her mouth and began biting on her nails as he spoke. "Cancel the retaliatory strike, now!"

"What?" The chairman bellowed, unbelievable.

"The radar blips you're seeing are all fake. No one's launched any nukes."

"How do you know?" The chairman snidely asked.

"The launch data is fake, part of an experiment that leaked. You weren't supposed to receive it. Your radar is showing missiles that don't exist." Snake pleaded.

"If you're lying, then we've got ten minutes 'til we're toast. We have to retaliate or more Americans die." The chairman argued.

"The experiment was planned and executed by the CIA's station chief in Central America."

"Then put him on, dammit!" The chairman ordered over Snake. If only the chairman knew what Coldman had done…

"He's dead. I can give you his name, though." Snake tried.

"We need more than the authentication code you gave the switchboard. We need proof you're actually Big Boss. Do you have any?"

The room became silent as Snake grumbled to himself. "Alright…" He finally spoke after what seemed like a few minutes. "If you know the name Big Boss…then maybe you were there…at the ceremony when I received the title from President Johnson."

"Indeed I was…Hold it!" The Chairman was seemingly speaking to another colleague. "Let's hear him out! You were saying?" Chairman continued.

"At the ceremony, the DCI tried to shake my hand. I refused. What happened in the room is classified - top secret. Only a handful of people would know." Snake answered calmly.

"Why did you refuse to shake his hand?" The Chairman continued to investigate.

"Because I knew where my loyalty belonged." Snake simply answered. The only sounds that could be heard in the room were Lydia's and Huey's shaky inhales and exhales. It's as if the air had been sucked out of the room when the silence followed. It was do or die.

"Everybody, listen to me!" The Chairman could faintly be heard as he addressed the War Room. "Those Soviet missiles are fakes! You've saved us all Big Boss. We'll stand down the alert." He continued.

"Thank god." Lydia hunched her shoulders. Huey relaxed back into his chair and sighed deeply.

"Thank you." Snake said with a sigh of relief hidden behind the words.

"When we meet again, I hope you'll shake _my_ hand." The Chairman complimented. "Wh-what are you doing?!" The Chairman sounded surprised.

* * *

 **Raven**

"Sorry Chairman. But we are not standing down!" A third party entered the conversation. His voice was farther away from the Chairman's phone, but more than likely, the Chairman was being threatened.

"Dammit!" Snake cursed.

"Those worthless sacks of…" Kaz gritted his teeth through the comms.

"God dammit!" Raven swore and kicked Peace Walker again. After his kick, he saw a blur of light blue enter his peripheral vision.

"What?" Raven heard Snake from behind him. Raven looked up at Peace Walker to see it was starting to attract morpho butterflies. Their blue hue was attracting attention to the Mammal Pod that sat at the rear of Peace Walker. It was quite the unnatural phenomenon.

"Jack…" The Mammal Pod spoke.

"The AI can talk?" Raven stepped back just in case if the machine wanted to up and try to destroy everything again. The Mammal Pod suppressed itself and emitted off some steam as it operated itself to position itself upright.

"Jack…" The hatch at the top of the pod opened on the second announcement of Boss' real name.

"Is it…calling to _you_?" Raven turned his head to the mesmerized Boss. Snake snapped out of his trance and threw the iDroid back to Raven. He bolted up the sloped leg of Peace Walker and proceeded to make his way up to the mind of the demon.

"Destroy the Mammal Pod and the data will stop flowing!" Miller spoke through the radio. With a single leap, Boss jumped to the open hatch and crawled inside the Mammal Pod.

"I've been waiting Snake…for a long time. Waiting for your birth, your growth…" What was with that thing? Did that other doctor really make it have a mind of its own? It was pulsing red the more Boss remained inside the pod. The voice coming through the AI became less coherent as time passed. It was patchy and corrupted…until it spoke his name for a final time.

"Jack…Jack…Jack…" With each call, the voice would differ in pitch as it began to power down.

"Valid Data Regions: Zero." Huey relayed. "It's all done."

"It stopped." Boss delivered the news. The pod was did not have the active red glow; everything was silent. No scratchy noises, no calls…could it really be over?

"Snake…I've got bad news." Huey interjected his victory. "The data uplink seems to be bypassing the Mammal Pod."

"No…" Lydia's voice echoed through the silence.

Snake crawled out of the Mammal Pod and jumped to the ground. He stood next to Raven, gritting his teeth. "Why?! Why won't it stop?!"

"For some of my patients, I deduce that sometimes the body continues to live even after the brain is damaged." Raven spoke.

"You'd be correct." A female with a British accent sounded off from behind the pair. "The Boss' AI isn't doing this. I think it's something rather more primitive."

"Are _you_ the one that made the AI?" Raven questioned as he sized up the female. She looked like she was in the later side of her twenties or early thirties. Her hair was short and was an unnatural shade of silver.

"I am…" She replied. Snake fell to his knees with his eye still set on the Mammal Pod.

"It looks as if the Reptile Pod has taken up Mammal's dying wish…" Huey finished the female doctor's statement.

"No…" Snake grunted. Raven looked down to him…his fists clenched as he didn't take his eye off the pod. "Stop it…" Another pause was to follow as his breath hitched. "Don't just sit there! Stop it!" Snake forced himself up and swung an AR over his shoulder. Raven pulled out his pistol from his right pocket and began to open fire at the exposed Mammal Pod. Bullet by bullet exited the chamber as he was finally on empty. Snake kept firing as the Mammal Pod began to fall apart, piece by piece.

"Estimated two-hundred seconds until impact….one-eighty-five seconds…" Peace Walker began its count-down the more Snake attempted to decommission. Snake finally ran out of ammo and jumped back away from Peace Walker as its front legs began to move again! The Mammal Pod's light began to flicker the more active Peace Walker became. The damaged beast forced itself up as the Mammal Pod came back to life. The glow was bright and full on energy. Peace Walker suddenly turned it's body to the large lake the compound sat on.

"What is it-?" Raven asked. The countdown had stopped. All was quiet as Peace Walker seemingly stared out into the open abyss. A high-pitched tune began to emit from Peace Walker…but nothing like before. A melodic pitch and rhythm echoed in the area as a familiar song began to play from the behemoth.

Snake fell to his knees in disbelief this time. "Boss?" He questioned once the AI's voice started to become clear.

"That voice…" The doctor solely gasped. The red hue on the Mammal Pod blinked to a bright yellow. With the change, Peace Walker became fully active again. Raven's mouth became agape while Peace Walker started to guide herself into the lake.

"Boss?" Snake slowly crouched and stood up straight, also watching as the machine waltzed into the water.

"A ghost in the machine?" The doctor added…in slight disbelief. Peace Walker submerged half her body into the water, but kept going. "She's drowning herself to stop the transmission?"

"It's functional compensation…when the human brain is damages, sometimes it recovers over time. Other parts of the brain take over the functions of the damaged parts." Huey spoke. "Both the Mammal and Reptile Pods were patterned after different parts of the human brain. When those parts were assembled together into one, they must've become capable of functional compensation…"

"But they're machines…" Raven was in disbelief the more he witnessed Peace Walker disappear.

"Is this her answer? This song?" The doctor asked with tears glistening in her eyes.

"It's clearly not thinking rationally…it's not using its head." Huey sounded just as confused. "It's using its heart…"

"This doesn't make any sense. It's just a machine, right?" Raven whispered to himself.

"This is the fate she chose for herself." The doctor was smiling now. "You saw it didn't you…when you went to space…that there's beauty outside the battle. At last I understand. In the end…it was you who put down your gun…and chose instead to sing. They can all hear you…I know they can…and your will shall surely live on. That's what you wanted…so much that you gave up everything you had but you couldn't achieve it. Isn't that right? And still all you can do it sing. And so we can only keep hoping…hoping for the illusion we call peace."

Boss lifted up his right hand to his temple, giving the ghost a salute of respect. Snake reached behind his head and untied his bandana. He didn't even look at it before he pitched it into the lake before them. Raven's eyes travelled from Boss then back to the ocean. Boss threw away his past, he had forgiven himself for what he had done the moment he threw that bandana into the depths below. Raven couldn't help but feel empty, himself. His arm felt heavy as it made its way up into a salute the woman who had trained and inspired Boss into whom he is at this very moment. The beautiful song travelled and echoed around until it fully disappeared with the yellow-hue…the ghost of the boss. She was now back where she belonged…in peace.

* * *

 **"Sing, sing a song.**

 **Sing out loud.**

 **Sing out strong.**

 **Sing of good things not bad,**

 **Sing of happy, not sad.**

 **Sing, sing a song.**

 **Make it simple to last,**

 **Your whole life long.**

 **Don't worry that it's not**

 **Good enough for anyone**

 **Else to hear,**

 **Just sing, sing a song.**

 **Sing, sing a song.**

 **Let the world sing along.**

 **Sing of love there could be,**

 **Sing for you and me.**

 **Sing, sing a song.**

 **Make it simple to last**

 **Your whole life long.**

 **Don't worry that it's not**

 **Good enough for anyone**

 **Else to hear,**

 **Just sing, sing a song."**

 **-The Carpenters**


	43. Chapter 43

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS franchise!**

 **Author's Note: Welcome back, everyone! Here is marvelous #43! When I originally wrote this chapter I didn't know it was going to be closing in on almost 10,000 words. OH WELL. It's long one, but it's one of my favorites! I hope you enjoy! :3**

 **CaptainMc:** Whuuuuuuuuuuut?! Go play Peace Walker, now! :) Here is the next chapter; I hope you enjoy!

 **Guest K:** Thank you, thank you! I know, and now we're at 43! When you pick up a PS3, check out Peace Walker. It's a lot of grinding work but it's flippin' good once you start it! :) Here's the next chapter!

 **Guest:** Thank you! Raven't the real MVP, seriously the bomb. Lmao, eccentric Russian Cowboy ;D I love and miss writing Ocelot so much D': Who know's when he'll pop right in *dun dun DUNNNNNN*. I can't wait till all of you guys get to GZ and V. It's gonna be baller and you will not be disappointed (I hope!)!

 ****MATURE CONTENT WARNING**: Strong sexual content; violence.**

* * *

 **"Maybe I'm amazed at the way I really need you.  
**

 **Maybe I'm a man and maybe I'm a lonely man,**

 **Who's in the middle of something,**

 **That he doesn't really understand."**

 **-Paul McCartney**

* * *

 **Lydia: November 23, 1974: 18:00**

The sun was set and the battle had finally ended. Smiles, tears, happiness…they were all plastered on the faces of the various MSF soldiers. Hoots and hollers erupted from the men and women as the VIP crew stepped off board of Morpho and onto their home-ground. First was Raven, whom had instantly ceased movement once on the ground. He stood to the side of the chopper and saluted. In that moment, all men were silent.

Snake was next to exit the chopper. He was greeted by the salutes from every single man and woman on base. MSF and Sandinista troops alike, they were all grateful to the man who saved them all. Snake…no… _Boss_ took in the moment. His eye traveled across the horizon of troops all supporting him. There was really no team like MSF.

"Three cheers for Boss!" A man shouted from the crowd. A whole eruption of cheers echoed, no doubt any island nearby could hear the celebration that went on that night. The world was alive for another day; the sun would surely rise again.

* * *

 **November 24, 1974: 05:00**

Just as Lydia predicted, the sun rose with no competition. She was in the mess hall drinking a cup of black coffee with her classic breakfast choice: peanut butter and jelly sandwich. "Buenos días." The charismatic voice of Amanda filled Lydia's ears.

"Igualmente." Lydia cracked a smile before taking another sip of her coffee.

"Mind if I join you?" She was carrying a plate of food in one hand and a coffee in another. "There's not too many people here, so why not keep a beautiful lady company?"

Lydia laughed. "I don't mind. Take a seat." Lydia motioned to the empt spot across the table.

"Some day, huh?" Amanda got comfortable and sat. "You do any… _celebrating_ last night?" Amanda slyly lifted her eyebrow and drank from her coffee.

"Celebrating?"

"You know… _celebrating_ with a certain _someone_?"

Lydia's face grew blank the more she stared at Amanda. "Are you trying to get something out of me?"

"Oooo!" A French accent blared out of nowhere. "And just what are we talking about over here?!" Lydia and Amanda looked toward the end of the table, Cécile and Paz were just as curious. "Did I just hear some talking about _celebrating_?!"

"Oh no, we've managed to get the attention of the Maiden of Romance!" Amanda winked and pat an empty spot next to her. "The other day, when things were a little more _quiet_ …the three of us were making some gallo pinto! Let me tell you, this Francés belleza has some good advice."

"Oui!" Cécile clapped her hands together.

"Sí." Amanda nodded to herself. "You see, chicas, the last time Lydia and I had a talk, I gave her a mission."

"You did?" Lydia's eyes turned up to the ceiling, as she tried to remember.

"Qué? You don't remember?!" Amanda gently hit her fist on the table. "Did you even end up telling him?!"

"Tell who?!" Cécile perked up.

"Oh…" Lydia slumped into her seat. "Now I remember. Yeah… _that_ didn't turn out so well. But I think he slept on it because the next day he was practically on his knees asking me to go somewhere with him."

"Dios mío, ese hijo de puta." Amanda slapped her palm to his forehead.

"Are you talking about Miller?" Paz asked, as innocently as she could. Lydia raised her eyebrow and looked at Paz, surprised. When had she figured out?

"Monsieur _Miller?!"_ Cécile placed her right hand to her chest as if she was slightly offended by Lydia's choice in men. "Why would you fall for a womanizing oaf like _that_?!"

Lydia was backed into a corner, all three girls were staring her down. "Can I just eat my sandwich? I didn't expect my breakfast to turn into an interrogation." Amanda let out a sigh and then continued to consume her own breakfast.

"Fine, I'm going to get some food. I'll be back." Cécile huffed as she stood and walked to the food assembly line.

"Paz…" Lydia began. "How did _you_ know?" She looked over at Paz, whom had taken a seat adjacent to Lydia. She looked caught off guard. Her bright eyes grew a little wider as if she was caught in the act of something. An odd reaction to such a simple question.

"Uhhhh heh heh." Paz scratched the back of her head. "The day when we first met…I could honestly tell by the way you looked at him."

"Well aren't you the intuitive one?" Lydia took a bite out of her sandwich, not believing her tone of voice.

"That's how I could tell, too." Amanda said. "I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed. So! Did he say where he was going to take you?"

"No. I've got to track him down first." Lydia finished off her glorious sandwich and took her attention away from Paz. "But I've got a few things I want to do first." Lydia took another sip of her coffee. "You girls enjoy your breakfast. I don't want to be here when the Maiden of Romance returns."

"Haha! I understand." Amanda winked. "This party'll take a raincheck." She held up a peace sign to bid farewell. Lydia stood up and began to walk out. she placed her dirty plate in a bin then waltzed out into the bright surroundings. The salty scent of the ocean filled her nostrils as she took a deep breath. It was a hard road, but they were finally at the end of it.

"Sub-C." Lydia nearly jumped and looked to her right to see Orca approaching her. "You're up early."

"You're observant." Lydia laughed and stuck out her right hand for him to shake. "Good job these past few days."

"Same to yourself." He took her hand to finish the greeting. "Hey that sauna is up and running, by the way." Orca suggested. "Today is a perfect day to go check it out. From our report it won't be getting any higher than seventy-seven degrees."

"I love living next the the equator in the middle of the god damn ocean." Lydia praised. "I'll go check it out, I've been needing to do something that'll relax me." Lydia shrugged her shoulders.

"Sounds good. Oh by the way, about that job you gave me…I don't have any new information on that base in Cuba yet, but I'll let you know as soon as I do."

"Roger doger." Lydia winked. "You all do such a great job, I don't doubt you one bit."

"Thanks, Sub-C." Orca flashed a smile. "Well have a good day if I don't see you at another time!"

"For sure." They bid each other farewell. _Sauna, huh? Now that doesn't seem like such a bad idea._ Lydia smiled to herself as she continued to make her way to the main command platform. _I should probably go check to see how ZEKE is progressing as well…there's a lot to catch up on._ Lydia sighed. "Business first." She spoke aloud. Lydia took out her radio with the intent to call Snake until she was interrupted.

"Who might you be?" The accent of a British female approached from behind. Lydia turned around to see a tall, slender, female with silver hair styled in a pixie cut. She was wearing business-casual pant-suit attire that was topped off with a black vest. She wore black sunglasses over her pale, white skin that only complemented her complexion. "Ah, tall, lean, long blonde hair, green eyes. You just be the SubCommander I've been hearing so much about."

"Lydia Matthews." Lydia smiled, sticking out her hand.

"Dr. Strangelove." Her hands were a little too soft when Lydia felt her grip. "Snake took me in after that whole Peace Walker business. I'm working on getting the AI all ready for your baby ZEKE."

"Oh really?" Lydia let go of her hand. "Why don't you walk with me? I'm actually headed over to see Snake right now. You can tell me about yourself."

"Hm, that sounds nice." Strangelove smiled with her lips.

"So you're the doctor Huey was mentioning that put together the AI for Peace Walker?"

"Way to put two and two together." She nodded, impressed. "I was. Now I can focus on making a better one for your Militaires Sans Frontières. Thanks to your Boss, he saved me from unemployment."

"That's always a good thing." Lydia responded.

"I'd like to see how this private organization turns out for Snake. He is one intriguing man at the least. So my work will continue here. The growth of MSF, as an organization is analogous to the development of the nervous system. The way you become intertwined, stimulate each other, branch out in new directions… It's really quite inspirational."

Lydia squinted trying to wrap her head around the scientifically-sound response. "That's quite the interesting way to put things."

"Heh. That's what your Boss said." Strangelove smirked. "You know, you have a lot in common. Am I correct that you two share a _bond_ of some sort?"

"Me and Snake? Common? I wouldn't go that far. Although, I have known him for nearly half my life. In a way I look at him like he's my father."

"Ah, I see." The soft skin of Strangelove's hand brushed up against Lydia's. "Well my dear, this is my stop. Thank you for keeping me company. You will not be disappointed with my work."

"Likewise." Lydia nodded. Strangelove blew Lydia a kiss before descending down to the hangar that harbored Peace Walker. "Hmmmmm…." Lydia let out a drawn-out hum as she watched Strangelove disappear from sight. _That is one smooth lady._

In no time, Lydia reached to command tower and ascended to the top floor. She was in Snake's office, he was staring right at the door when she walked in. "Oh Snake, it's like you were expecting me."

"I heard you walking down the hall." Lydia tucked in her lips and nodded once.

"Anyway, I came to drop by and catch up." She got to the point.

"Catch up?" Snake raised his eyebrow. Snake's eye moved to the door one more time, which caused Lydia to turn her head around as well to see what had his attention. The door opened to reveal Kaz.

"Boss, I have the most amazing idea!" Kaz announced. "Oh, Lydia? Am I interrupting something?"

"Nope, not at all." She popped her lips together, a tad disappointed.

"Hmmm?" Snake hummed in response. "And what would that be?"

"Well, Amanda and I were talking and we came up with Peace Day!"

"Peace Day?" Snake and Lydia asked simultaneously.

"Yeah! Like a celebration where we call everyone out on a mission home. It will be the biggest party of the year. We'll have music, alcohol, dancing, fireworks, you know…the good stuff!" Kaz spread out his arms to symbolize how big the celebration would be. "We've spent so much time fighting recently! We can mark it as our way of bringing World Peace!"

"Hmmmm that doesn't sound like a _bad_ idea." Snake entwined his fingers and placed his hands under his chin. "You're in charge of the expenses since it's your idea."

"Yes!" Kaz fist-bumped the air. "You got it, Boss."

"When are we having this 'Peace Day'?" Lydia asked flat-toned.

"I was thinking November 30th! That'll give us plenty of time to prepare!"

"November 30th, eh? It sounds like it could be a good annual celebration." Lydia added. Snake half-smiled and nodded.

"Alright!" Kaz cheered. "I'm going to let the other men know. I have tons of ideas! Oh and Lydia, I need to speak with you later about our _budget_. Whenever you're done here let me know. The Boss is leaving this in our hands, got it?"

"Sure…I got ya." Lydia agreed nonchalantly.

"It's a good thing you're here too, because I needed to talk to the both of you about something." Kaz continued.

"Go on?" Lydia crossed her arms over his chest.

"Hold on a few, I'm just waiting for Huey."

"Huey? Is this something about ZEKE?" Snake inquired. In no time flat, Huey rolled into Snake's office.

" _Now_ it's a party." Lydia commented on how crowded the room was.

"Go ahead Huey."

"Strangelove is just finishing on some minor details on the AI. She stayed up all night just to fine-tune what I had started. I'm proud to announce that preparations for Metal Gear ZEKE are finally complete. After the AI is installed, we can activate it at any time."

"Got it. Thanks Huey." Snake nodded.

"No need to thank me." Huey held up his arms in an innocent manner. "At least now I can finally say I helped you with something."

"You were a big help to us with bringing down Peace Walker, thank you." Lydia added.

"That being said…there's something I need to mention." Kaz butted in. "I returned some of our guys to Nicaragua overnight and had them go fishing in Lago Cocibolca."

"Get to the point, Kaz." Snake spoke, leaning back in his chair.

"Well…long story short, we recovered the nuclear warhead that was loaded onto Peace Walker." Lydia's eyes widened then looked to Huey. The expression on his face had dropped.

"What?" Snake sat upright in his chair and focused his attention of Kaz.

"Warheads are radioactive, even if they're relatively stable. If we just left it there it would contaminate the lake, or fall into the hands of terrorists…"

"…Creating another crisis." Snake finished Kaz's sentence.

"Right. So while the White House is figuring out how to cover its ass, I thought we'd take some precautions."

"What did you have in mind?"

"Load it onto ZEKE." Lydia didn't take her eyes off of Huey at those next words. If his expression could be any more solemn, he would probably invent a new emotion all together. He blamed every problem he had on nuclear testing and engineering. From his birth defect to the reason Coldman recruited him. It was only a matter of time before something like this had happened, did Huey not see that coming?

Snake, on the other hand, seemed just as surprised. "What?!" He exclaimed.

"What else would we do with it? ZEKE is _our_ deterrent. To protect ourselves from nuclear attack, we need a nuclear weapon ourselves."

"Isn't this how the Cold War started?" Lydia shrugged, glaring at Kaz.

"O-o-of course if you're not on board, we could always dispose of it safely. _But_ it won't be easy getting another nuke. This is a golden opportunity." Kaz's voice started to hype up. "We could always get rid of it later - load it onto some fishing boat and leave it out in the middle of the ocean. No one would ever know it's there."

"You call _that_ a _safe_ way of getting rid of a nuke? It's a lot more complex to safely and _completely_ disarm a nuke. It'll eventually take a current and wash onto a shore. Besides, if you leave it in the ocean it'll contaminate the water, _right_?" Lydia threw his words back at him. _He's backed Snake into a corner. Half this room is split on the subject! What an idiot doing that without his permission!_ Lydia clenched her fist.

"No…" Snake held up his hand to interrupt. "Don't get rid of it." He stood up from his chair. "As long as there are nukes out there, we need one ourselves if we're going to be a world power."

"Heh." Kaz crossed his arms. "I knew you'd see it that way, Boss!"

"That doesn't excuse the fact you went behind him to do that yourself!" Lydia fought back. "We're _supposed_ to be a _team_ Kazuhira. If you can't bring your ideas to us prematurely, what is the point?! You backed him into a corner with a nuke already on it's way here?! What _else_ was he supposed to say?!"

"Lydia…it'll put us on equal footing since we stand apart from other nations. With this nuke, in a way, MSF could be a country itself. We just became the world's seventh nuclear power with this." Kaz stated back.

"Nuclear power, my ass." Lydia spat. "Snake, we were in Russia when we saw Volgen fire off that nuke. It nearly killed us! If you want that kind of power go ahead, I can't tell you otherwise. You know the destruction it'll bring. Hell, you know what that nuke almost did to the world! If you want _that_ to put us on the radar then go right ahead. All it's going to do is make us a target. I can't stop your decisions. Besides, it's already on its fucking way anyway." Lydia marched out of the room without another word. Did Kaz have some kind of secret agenda?! Sending their troops out in the middle of the night to go fishing…sounded _fishy._

"L-Lydia, w-wait!" The nervous call of Huey approached from behind her. She didn't want to stop to talk to anyone. "Y-you said that for me, didn't you?"

"Huey, I don't know what you're talking about. I just don't want a run-in with the wrong people."

"You know how I feel about nukes, I told you what I went through back in college. You spoke for the both of us back there." Huey stopped rolling.

"Yeah, well there's nothing we can do now."

"There might be." Lydia stopped in her tracks and turned around to face him.

"What are you talking about?"

"We can leave. Without me, they don't know how to install the nuke."

" _We_ can leave?" Lydia asked for clarification. There was red on his cheeks, like he had mistakingly said something he didn't mean. "Are you suggesting I desert my family after one disagreement?"

"N-no, that's not what I meant." Huey back-tracked. "I meant that I…uhhhhh…I don't know."

"Way back then, if things went my way I wouldn't even be here in the first place. I'd probably be somewhere in, I don't know, Scotland, with an exotic, eccentric cat and live out my days drinking coffee and eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches." Lydia sighed. "Point is, I've disagreed with Snake and Miller on a handful of things, but that doesn't mean I'll disown them. I may have my own feelings about nuclear deterrence, but one selfish, childish outburst shouldn't be the turning factor for everyone on Mother Base."

"So you're not going to relay your opinion at all? We can leave this place and go back to America _together_. I-I know some people, t-they can forge you documents."

"Huey." Lydia held up her hand. "You hear me when I say that _this_ is the place I belong." Lydia calmed down. "There's no other place in the world for me except here. I told myself when I was deported from the US that Snake would find me, order a black coffee at the shop I worked at, and ask me to join him. And hell, didn't it go just as planned?" Lydia chuckled to herself at the memory. "I'm not going anywhere with you Huey. I'm not going anywhere on my own, either. Just from listening to you, you may feel one way about me now, but your heart is in the wrong place. I'm not the same girl you knew back at MIT. You know that saying: 'home is where the heart is'? Despite our disagreements, my home is here with MSF. With time, you will feel the same way. You have an internal struggle to break through…the Mt. Everest of your soul is nuclear power and you have to find some way to overcome and climb to the top of that…just like I do."

"So you're just going to deny your feelings? You're going to hide what you want?!" He said a little too loud.

"Think what you want, Huey. I'm not discussing this with you anymore."

"I can find a way to get you that life! You can have that life in Scotland, you know! Away from all this!"

"You're missing one important detail in that declaration." Lydia sighed. "I've moved on, Huey. It is what it is."

"I'd like to hear you say that when we're at the bottom of the ocean."

"I'm not talking to you about this anymore." Lydia sighed and brushed some of her bangs away from her face. "Good day, Huey. I hope the next time we see each other we'll be on better terms." Lydia turned around and continued her journey to the stairs.

After descending down the multiple flights, Lydia finally walked outside into the cool mid-morning air. _Now would be the perfect time to go into that sauna._ Lydia sighed. She made her way back to the living quarters and went to her room with the idea to freshen up. She walked into her small bathroom and looked at the reflection in the mirror.

* * *

 ** _July 27th,_ _1964: 14:00_**

 _Lydia was rummaging through the plane remnants…it seemed like she was looking through the same ones from a few days ago. She soon became overwhelmed and expressed that with an agitated sigh. "We should go back."_

 _"You're telling me this time?" Ocelot scoffed._

 _"Shut up." Lydia stood up from her crouching position and turned around to face the blonde. "You can stay here if you want. I'll leave without you."_

 _"What's with that attitude?" Ocelot raised an eyebrow. "Now that's not like you at all."_

 _"How do you know what's like me and what isn't, huh?" Lydia placed her hand on her hip. She removed the balaclava that covered her face with her other one and threw it at him. He let the fabric hit his chest and fall to the ground._

 _"You're acting like a child."_

 _"I'm tired of digging through this shit every day, I'm not going to find anything! Whatever was here is gone. Plain and simple. I can't stand you being behind me all the time telling me what to do!"_

 _"Careful." Ocelot interrupted. "It's like you're forgetting who's keeping you alive."_

 _"I can't believe this." Lydia shook her head. "Let's just go back." Lydia, in her tyrant, marched past Ocelot until he roughly latched onto her arm._

 _"You forgetting something?" He asked. Her eyes fell to the balaclava at his feet._

 _"If you want to keep me alive so bad, why don't you pick it up and put it on my face, huh? You've had no problem in the past with ripping it off." Ocelot's eye twitched as she could physically see the anger swell in his eyes. He threw her away from him and pulled out one of his pistols as she hit the ground. He shot at her head with a near miss. Her right ear was ringing as the hot bullet planted itself into the dirt below her._

 _"If you want to die so badly, then why don't I just kill you now, huh?" He mocked her. Lydia rose to her feet and swiftly grabbed a hold of his right wrist. She twisted it enough to make him drop the gun. To her surprise, Ocelot had spun around and grabbed the falling gun with his left. He kicked her off and clocked her on her right cheek with the gun's hard handle. She could feel herself fall right out of consciousness for only a moment until her back hit the ground hard._

 _"God dammit, Ocelot." She shook herself out of the daze and wanted to sit up. His spurs were approaching and stopped once his right boot had collided with her chest. He rested his boot between her breasts as he pointed his pistol at her head._

 _"I bested you this time." Lydia raised an eyebrow. "You're too emotional."_

 _"Yeah right!" Lydia grabbed his right calf and violently dragged it off her chest. The cold metal of his spur tore at her side and broke skin before he plummeted to the ground. She rolled to her knees and launched herself on top of him before he could even register to move. Lydia instantly straddled her legs over his waist. She caught his right and left wrists in her hands and pinned him to the ground. "Who bested who?" Lydia grinned proudly._

 _Ocelot sighed in defeat as his features softened. "When did this turn into a spar?"_

 _"When you decided to throw me." Lydia retorted. "Besides, if you would have apprehended my wrists when I was down on the ground, you would've won."_

 _"Yeah, I see that now." Ocelot said blankly as he stared into her eyes. Blood fell to his cheek and trickled down his carved-features past his ear-lobe._

 _"Oh, uh sorry about that." Lydia apologized and removed her right hand from his wrist. She gently placed her right hand to his left cheek and began her best attempt to wipe off the blood…but was doing more smearing than anything. "Whoops."_

 _"You forget something, though." Ocelot narrowed his eyes._

 _"What?" Her hand stopped. Ocelot swiftly sat up turned them around and pinned her beneath him. His form was sloppy and he still left her open for a counter with how he was positioned. He rested between her legs, his right hand now intertwined with her left. In the struggle, Lydia had let go of his left hand which found its way to her split cheek. He stared at her cheek then into her eyes. It's like there was some type of regret or concern that he couldn't bring himself to vocalize._

 _"Never drop your guard." He finished his statement. When his thumb touched the torn flesh, Lydia inhaled sharply. "That scar was given to you by Volgen before. Now thanks to me, you'll have one more thing to remember me by. I'll have to stitch that up. How annoying." Ocelot sighed and stood up. His eyes landed on her torso. "I'll have to disinfect that, too." Ocelot shook his head. "You just have to always be trouble, huh?"_

 _"It doesn't change the fact that Volgen gave me that scar in the first place. And I can help myself."_

 _"Help yourself, then. Just don't forget your balaclava." Ocelot turned and started to make his way back to the strong-hold. Lydia propped herself up on her hands and narrowed her eyes the further he got._

 _"Ugh."_

* * *

Lydia ran her right thumb across the scar. _Still doesn't change the fact that Volgen gave it to me in the first place._ Lydia chuckled. _What an ass-hole. I almost forgot about that._ Lydia sighed. _We had an odd way of showing our affection, that's for sure._ _Couple of socially awkward maniacs._ Lydia frowned. The situation in the hall must have reminded her how childish she used to be. Her immaturity had shown…she was all for the strength of MSF but she was selfish.

Her radio started to go off. "Sub-C?" Is was a voice she hadn't recognized. "Sub-C, do you copy?" Lydia made her way over to the radio and received the hail.

"This is Matthews."

"Sorry to bother you ma'am. This is Armadillo. I have a situation here at the sauna that I'm not too sure how to handle."

 _There's just never a dull moment here isn't there?_ "Got it, Armadillo. I'll be there shortly." Lydia cracked her neck and proceeded to walk out of her room. _I wanted to go to the sauna anyway._ A few minutes passed before she found the tall, tank-like man standing for her in front of the entry-way to the public showers. "Armadillo?"

"Yes ma'am. I'm glad you made it." He saluted.

"What's going on?"

"Last night after everyone all returned, I heard some…strange…noises coming from the sauna." He nodded his head back to the entrance. "It's been a while since it's been installed, but I thought it was about time for me to go check it out, yeah?"

"Yeah? And what do you mean by strange noises? Like a ghost?"

"N-no ma'am…like there was someone fooling around in there. Heard something about 'soap play', too. And I'll be damned, I saw Swan walk in there about half an hour ago. Not but ten minutes later I started hearing the noises again." Armadillo looked a mix of sad and angry.

"Soap Play? What the hell is that? Ok then… let's go check it out." Lydia spoke with a blank face.

"S-she's my girlfriend, ma'am."

"Huh…" Lydia huffed. "All the more for us to go nip this in the bud, shall we? You can wait here if you like."

"N-no, I'll come with you for back-up. I'm going to show this guy who's boss." A loud, familiar groan entered Lydia's ears, followed by the moaning of a woman who was, by the sound of it, enjoying herself.

"Heh." Lydia shook her head. "I'll be damned." Lydia walked into the public showers, followed by Armadillo. She marched through the men's showers, startling a few of the naked men in there.

"Ah! It's Sub-C!"

"Oh shit!"

"D-Don't look at me!"

"She's gonna get 'em!"

Lydia kept her eyes focused on the door leading to the Finnish-style sauna. There was steam from the floor to the ceiling. She opened the door and was greeted by a warm blast of steam to the face. "How about _this_ , huh?" There was a slapping-noise followed by another moan.

"Oh yeah, Commander, that's good!" Lydia's eye twitched as the haze of the steam started to clear.

"S-Swan?!" Armadillo called out and pushed passed Lydia. Being an idiot, he wasn't paying attention and slipped on a puddle of water leading into the sauna. He fell flat on his butt and crashed his head on the edge of the door.

"Ah!" The woman from inside screamed.

"Wha? Who's there?!" _Kaz_ called out. _Kaz._ Called. Out. Lydia looked at Armadillo who was rubbing his bloody head. Lydia clenched her fist and turned around toward the swarm of naked men that were looking in her direction.

"If I were all of you, I would move out of my way."

"Y-yes ma'am!" The majority of them shouted and parted their nude selves to form a walk-way.

"Call someone to help Armadillo. I'm going to take care of this." Once she emerged outside, Amanda was there waiting for her.

"Everything ok in there, chica? I heard some screaming."

"Heh, right when he was wanting us to go out again? Huh? That perverted SON OF A BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITCH!" Lydia yelled at the top of her lungs. She glared at Amanda who grinned in response and held up the palm of her right hand. She pointed at it with her left. "AHHHHHH!" Lydia punched Amanda's hand as hard as she could.

"I get it now. I thought that was _you_ in with him last night. That's why I was asking about celebrating earlier! Feel a little better now, chica?"

" _How_ could he go around making a bad example like that?! Where the other men can hear him, too?! Does that seem like acceptable 'leader' behavior to you?!"

"Absolutely not, hermana." Lydia began her angry march to the control tower.

"I can't believe this shit!" Troops stationed nearby were staring at her. "Good for nothing piece of-"

"Aye! Where are you going?" Amanda followed her.

"I'm going to Snake. Where else?" Lydia spat. "There has been TOO much happening today and THIS….oh, this right here Amanda…is when the ice cream turns to SHIT."

"Oh no, I see el diablo." Amanda stopped in her tracks once Lydia entered into the command tower. By the time she ascended to the top floor, she had calmed down a bit. She wasn't going to hide this from Snake anymore. It was time that he knew about her relationship…as well as the unacceptable behavior. She stood in front of his office and took a deep breath before knocking.

"Come in." He spoke from beyond the door.

"Snake…" Lydia opened the door and waltzed into his office. He was sifting through paperwork, a chore he didn't particularly like to do.

"Lydia, something wrong?" Lydia's eyes shifted around the room. Her stomach was in knots…maybe like five of six fishermen knots to be exact.

"I, uh, have something to confess." Snake motioned to the chair sitting across from him at his desk. "And I know you're not one for paperwork, so I know this'll be a good break to hear me out."

"Try me." He crossed his arms.

"So…this past year…" Lydia started as she sat down in the chair across from him. She took in a deep breath. "I've been having… _relations_ …with Commander Miller."

"Mmmmm." He stared at her with his deep green eye, no emotion behind it whatsoever.

"Uhhh, so…staff member Armadillo called me about an hour ago and called me to the sauna because he was curious about another staff member, Swan…when I went there to check it out…there was Miller. He was with a woman. And being loud about it, too, if you know what I mean. Armadillo was so filled with rage he slipped on a puddle of water and injured himself."

"Mmmm."

"He's been two-timing on me, Snake. And who knows _how_ many other women on base."

"One…I knew about your relationship, too. Two…Armadillo? What does that have to do with him?"

" _He's_ dating Swan…and _we_ both heard and witnessed Swan and Kaz in the sauna. Let me tell you, we heard some… _interesting_ things. And get this, there were other men in the public showers, too!" The rage within Lydia grew the more she talked about it. How could he have done that?! And to her?!

"Interesting things? Like he _had_ her?"

"…" Lydia tightened her fists. "Yes. And who knows _how_ many other women he's fooled around with." She thought back to the night she told him that she loved him…there was someone in his room that night, too.

"Hmm, so what do you want _me_ to do about it?"

"I want you to talk to him. Maybe talk some sense into that idiotic brain of his. He's the Commander…don't you think he's setting a bad example?"

"I would be lying if I said 'no'." Snake replied. "I'll take care of it. Lydia…"

"Snake?"

"I'm not in charge of who you pick to be with or how you choose to spend your free time. But choose wisely."

"Of course, Snake. But I think it's a little too late for that." Lydia nodded. "I'm…I'm in love with him, Snake. I've loved him for a while now." She said it…just like another confession. It tore at her heart.

"…have you told him?"

"Yes."

"And he _still_ did that…with him knowing?"

"…Yes." Lydia frowned. She could see the protectiveness shine through his eye. The rage within his soul was burning, like he, himself, had been betrayed by a close friend.

"Lydia…you know love can't bloom on the battlefield." Lydia shut her eyes, instantly witnessing a silhouette of Ocelot and Kaz. She had found love twice…and was knocked down both times.

"I'm beginning to think so." Lydia sighed. "Snake, just do it for me."

"I'll find him and I'll set things right."

* * *

 **Snake: November 24, 1974: 15:00**

Snake walked out of his office area a few hours after Lydia had left and proceeded to make his way toward the main deck. On board, he saw Armadillo…a scowl on his face with a large bruise on his head. "Armadillo." He greeted.

Armadillo, with the stature of a tank, saluted him in respect. "Boss!"

"I just spoke with the Sub-C a few hours ago. What's with that injury on your head?"

"I was caught off guard, sir. It was the heat of the moment and I hit my head on entry-way to the sauna."

"Mmmm." Snake grumbled. "Do you know where Kaz is?"

"Last time I saw him he was headed into the public male showers from the housing quarters, looked like he had something on his mind."

"Thanks."

"Don't forget to bring up the damn soap play!" Armadillo called out as Snake approached the showers.

 _Soap play? Never ever heard of it, that damn pervert._

* * *

 **Kaz: November 24, 1974: 15:10**

Kaz had emerged himself under warm running water from the shower-head. Although it was a little dark in the area, he didn't mind. He finished lathering his body and began to hum the tune to "Love Deterrence", part of a song he pieced together only an hour or two ago. Peace Day was approaching; he was all too excited to pitch his band idea to Paz. No doubt she would agree! Love Deterrence…really a song for _her_.

"Shouldn't you take your sunglasses off?" A familiar voice echoed in Kaz's ears. He opened his eyes to see Snake had joined him in the showers. _He sure did sneak up one out of nowhere._ He wanted to smack himself over the head with the palm of his hand for not hearing him sooner.

"Oh, it's just a little too bright in here. Is that you, Snake?" Kaz decided to keep on his sunglasses. No doubt if he took them off, he would lose them.

"So it's finished, huh?"

"What's finished?" Kaz raised an eyebrow as he pulled a nearby towel to his waist.

"That _room_." Snake continued. What is he talking about? Kaz thought briefly.

"Oh, the sauna?"

"It's not like you…"

"What?"

"Isn't it a bit too extravagant to have a sauna in our Mother Base?"

"Boss…you were the one who approved it…not me." Kaz chimed in.

"Well…I changed my mind a little while ago. Isn't it a bit pricey?" Snake placed his right hand on his naked hip. Kaz couldn't help but size him up. He had a very impressive…body for someone his age. Age hadn't slowed him down! But what was this? Bringing up the sauna again all of a sudden?

"Well we talked about this before right?" Kaz asked. "It should be pretty economical if we use filtered ocean water and think about our electricity expenses. And we have some soldiers from Finland. I think it might boost their morale a bit." Kaz blinked, feeling slightly uncomfortable at Snake's prying eye. "Uhhh, need some soap?"

"No." He simply responded.

"The sauna _is_ quite popular. You wait till it gets hot, then you pour water, which creates steam. It's like on of the Finnish saunas! Nearly twenty people can get in!"

"Huh…"

"Snake?" Something was up…there was a reason why Kaz was ambushed. Had he done something wrong? Why confront him in the public showers of all places?! He was too venerable in here!  
"Kaz…I heard someone got injured in here."

"Hmm? Oh, I took a look at him, that was barely a bruise." Something shone in Snake's eye, like his suspicions were confirmed about something.

"Who was it again?" Snake asked.

"Armadillo." Snake sighed at Kaz's response.

"You were here when it happened?" Wait, did Armadillo complain?! Wait…Swan…This couldn't be about _that_ , right?

* * *

 _Swan had come onto him during the night after they had returned home from Nicaragua. Being intoxicated from the small celebration, he couldn't help but say yes to Swan's advance. Lydia was still mad at him, so what's the harm in that? There was no one utilizing the women's side of the showers at the time. She started them off in there and then began strip and clean every inch of him with soap! She had such large breasts and such a slender body. She said something about how this was called "Soap play" from where she was from. He remembered feeling up every inch of her, making her moan in pleasure everywhere his fingers glided. It all went by so fast in his tipsy haze._

 _It was Swan's idea to get hot and heavy when she pulled him into the sauna. She pushed him on one of the benches and seductively crawled on top of him. She was grinding up against his hard cock. He remembered closing his eyes and lolled his head back. When he opened them, he expected long, golden hair…not brown. He blinked a few times and surprised himself when he stopped her from going any further. "S-stop." He spoke, gulping. He almost regretted the words that came out of his mouth._

 _"W-what?" Swan looked offended and instantly covered her supple breasts with her arms._

 _"I-I just can't." Kaz admitted, slurring his words. "I mean…you're beautiful…you really are. I just c-"_

 _"Can't? I get it." She stood up from the bench. "I guess I'll help myself tonight."_

 _"Help yourself…" Kaz swallowed hard as she took it upon herself to exit the sauna. He sat there for a little while before he took it upon himself to move and find his clothes._

 _The next morning, there was something on Lydia's mind…he could tell. From the looks of it, he could tell she wanted to tell Snake something. Kaz had interrupted them…she had that blank slate on her face as usual when she's trying to be professional. After the nuclear proposal, he hadn't seen her so…mad? Was mad the word? Or was it childish? Kaz was looking out for the team, but she couldn't understand that and was caught off guard about the Peace Walker's note. Kaz took it personally and needed to think._

 _When he was done with the conversation with Snake, he heard something interesting. Huey and Lydia…to think of it…they did know each other before, huh?_

 _"So you're just going to deny your feelings? You're going to hide what you want?!" Huey shouted with confusion at Lydia._

 _"Think what you want, Huey. I'm not discussing this with you anymore." Lydia responded._

 _"I can find a way to get you that life! You can have that life in Scotland, you know! Away from all this!"_

 _Kaz frowned to himself. "Looks like I was too late." He whispered and decided to take the emergency exit on the opposite side of the hallway. He had called Swan; needing to let off some…steam. Right where they had left off._

 _He had arrived before her. On one of the benches was a plant of Japanese origin…Vihta. There were a lot of guys in hot springs in Japan that would hit each other with this to get blood flowing…and oh was it going to get someone's blood flowing._

 _Swan had finally arrived after about fifteen minutes of waiting. She had draped a towel across her tan skin and large breasts. She looked at him with lust in her dark brown eyes. He held the Vihta in his right hand, ready to give her the most pleasurable beating of her life. From the way she was moaning every time the leaves would smack her ass, he wasn't letting her down. "How about this, huh?" She let out a loud moan that echoed around the room as he slapped her again. The louder she moaned, the harder he became._

 _"Oh yeah, Commander, that's good!"_

 _"Swan?!" It was a male's voice. Someone had opened the door! There was a loud thud and a groan from the intruder._

 _"Get out of here." He motioned for Swan to leave. "I'll check it out."_

* * *

"Ah…yeah." Kaz sounded distant to Snake as he remembered what had happened. "He suddenly slipped. Probably on some _soap_."

"Slipped. _That_ guy, huh? The one who has a posture of a tank… _slipped_?"

"Maybe he just felt dizzy? He was in a sauna after all."

"In the sauna…huh?"

"Boss."

"Kaz."

"Boss?

"Is there something you wanna tell me?" Snake urged on, crossing his arms. His eye could burn a hole through Kaz's soul. He had to keep his cool. He didn't do anything wrong!

"Actually, yeah." Kaz started, fixing the towel around his waist. He covered up his parts and walked up to Snake. "Snake, do you actually wanna check out the sauna? It's just next door."

"Will you show me around?" Snake asked.

"You got it, Boss." Kaz walked in front of him, leading him into the sauna next door. It was filled with steam, almost hard to see! "Man, just look at this steam!"

"…There's an injury on the inside of your thigh."

"What are you looking at?" Kaz turned to him. He couldn't tell if he was blushing from embarrassment or if it was the heat from the sauna.

"At your body. Well…besides that _part_ your hiding with that towel. Kaz, so…"

"What do you think about this sauna, isn't it something?" He attempted to change the subject…which worked for a little bit! The steam was making it hard to breathe, kinda like how he was feeling before walking Snake over to the resting area.

"Yeah, it's quite refreshing…compared to that dry, tropical weather. So…Kaz…"

"Yeah, what is it?" Kaz finally had the guts to ask. His stomach was in knots.

"What's with those leaves?" Snake pointed to the corner of the room behind Kaz. Kaz turned around and spotted the Vihta he had used just a few hours ago on…wait…

"Uhhh, those are Vihta. Tied up leaves from a Japanese white birch." Snake poured more water into the hot coals. More steam was rising from the depths…seemingly from Hell.

"Vihta?" A term Snake didn't hear often, possibly. Kaz sat down next to the bundle on one of the wooden benches, making sure not to lose his towel in the journey. Now would be an excellent time to change the subject! Maybe he could get Snake interested in it!

"Yeah." Kaz added. "You use it to strike your body. It stimulates the blood circulation and reinvigorates you."

"Huh…let me try it."

"Sure thing." Kaz wrapped his hand around the end of the bundle and handed it to Snake. He then struck his left arm with it…an interesting place to hit yourself with Vihta…but whatever.

"Ohh, this _is_ nice." Snake complimented, probably feeling the tingling sensation afterwards. He hit himself again, this time harder…leaving red marks on his forearm! Kaz gulped a little.

"Geez, you use so much strength, Snake." Kaz mentioned.

"So Kaz…"

"Yeah?"

"Show me your back."

"Eh? My back? Why do you need to see that?"

"Just stand up and turn around." Snake ordered. Kaz frowned and stood up, holding onto the knot that kept the towel in tact around his waist. Kaz turned his back to him then was instantly met with another order. "Take off your towel."

"W-what?!" Snake's hands grabbed onto Kaz's towel, ripping it off of his waist. Snake's free hand touched the small of Kaz's back and slowly made their way to the top of his butt. "Snake?! _Why_ are you _touching_ me?!"

"You even have scars on your ass. As if someone recently clawed at it…Show me more. Turn around."

"Isn't this enough, Boss?" Kaz sighed, turning around. "We're all men here."

"Kaz…" his eye peering right at him accusingly. "Are you _popular_?"

Kaz's eyes shifted at the question. "I…I suppose so." There was a shortage of ladies on Mother Base; almost every one of them had found a way into his arms.

"Mmmm." Snake grumbled to himself, placing his hand on a few scratches on his abdomen. The lower he got to his junk, the more on edge Kaz felt. Snake was nearly feeling up every inch of him!

"Snake, hey, why are you touching me?" He asked again, gulping in anticipation.  
"Kaz…do you remember?"

"Eh?" Snake removed his hand.

"That time when we just met. You asked me what my count was with the ladies."

"Huh?" It had been so long ago…did he really ask Boss that?

"Or was it…how many women I had been with? It's been two years since then. So…how many girls have _you_ had since then?" Kaz tensed up. His hands forming into fists.

"Maybe…" No use lying to him now, he was trapped in a corner with nowhere to go. The scars on his body, his cover was blown. Kaz held up both of his hands, holding up nine fingers. "Somewhere around this?"

"That many?!" Snake nearly jumped back. He couldn't tell if he was shocked or enraged.

"Uh huh…" Guilt flushed over him.

"How did you manage that in two years leading a life like ours?" Snake shook his head. "Kaz, I'm not going to control everyone's love affairs. You're free to choose. The responsibility is in your hands."

Kaz wanted to sigh with relief. He didn't notice the grip around the Vihta had grown tighter. "Just what I'd expect to hear from you, Boss-"

"However." Snake shut him up. "I also believe it's important that no one sets a bad example when it comes to their duties and intentions. Do you understand?"

"Ah…" Kaz shifted his eyes. "I see you're getting a bit red from the steam, maybe we should go-" Snake hit is own forearm with the Vihta again, abruptly interrupting Kaz.

"Kaz, as second in command, you should be more sensible."

"What's with that…"

"Lydia asked me for some advice. Just a few hours ago. She wanted to talk. She's one of our prettiest staff members, isn't she?" _Pretty_ didn't sum up Lydia. Pretty was not a word he would use. Stunning. Beautiful. Those were words closer to her tier.

"Yeah…" Kaz trailed off.

"Have you slept with her, yet?" _Did Lydia?!_ Kaz was about taken aback. _Did Lydia find out what happened?!_

"Heh, did she say so?"

"Oh yeah. Seems Lydia _also_ said she saw you with Swan. Swan's another one of those… _pretty_ ones around here, right?" Kaz wanted to crawl into a fetal position. It had happened too fast and it was so…unintentional. Same with the other women that had been on mother base. It's not like he and Lydia were…official…were they? He hadn't even had the chance to go out with her again! And what about Huey?! Was that a misunderstanding?!

"Well, just being around her isn't…"

"You came here with _her_ …with Swan."

"Huh?'

"You've _been_ with her here, huh? You two. Alone."

"W-well." Snake lifted up his right arm and struck Kaz right across the face with the Vihta. "Ow!"

"So how was it? I've heard just about everything. Soap play, huh?"

"Soap play…" Snake struck him again, this time harder.

"Tell me!"

"I'm sorry! It was so sudden!"

"Sudden?" Snake struck him again. "Armadillo saw you two, too. And Swan was his girlfriend. And he was _surprised_?! That Armadillo, who was so proud of his tank-like balance…fell down?!" Snake Struck him over the shoulder that time. The leaves stinging at the touch. "Vihta! Two timing!" Snake hit him again. A punishment well-deserved but getting to be too much. "What happened to chivalry? You're setting a bad example! What the hell are you doing?!"

"Snake…"

"Making me lecture you like this!"

"I was just stupid at the time!"

"Oh really? I know they weren't the only ones you slept with. So, who else was there? Dolphin? Elephant? Just how many were there? Do you want me to crush you for all this?!"

"I didn't do anything with them!" Was the only thing he could get out to try and make Snake stop hitting him over and over with the plant.

"You bastard! This time, I'll mince you! Won't let you do that again! You damn pervert!" Snake threw the bundle of leaves to the ground and delivered a punch right to Kaz's face. Something inside Kaz snapped the moment Boss' fist left his face. Burning rage piled up…he couldn't let himself get beat down like that! Not even by Snake himself! He was not one for losing!

* * *

 **Lydia: November 24, 1974: 15:30**

"Lydia, you did the right thing." Amanda patted her on the back as they walked out onto the base level of the command platform. "Hopefully it wasn't what you thought it was and he'll realize your importance. 'Ah Lydia, te amo! I have loved you all along!' Sounds romantic, eh?" Lydia rolled her eyes.

"I feel like I'm getting too old for this, Amanda. Maybe I'm not meant to be with anyone." She folded her hands under the bundle of her ponytail. "I guess you really can't help who you fall in love with."

"Like I said before…I'm no romantic, but I think it's clear that Miller is missing out on something wonderful with you." She winked, nudging Lydia's arm. "He'll realize _that_ then those other women will mean nothing!"

"I think that's what all the girls think. There was a lot that happened today." Lydia shook her head.

"What in the world…?" Amanda trailed off, suddenly sounding distracted. Lydia heard a commotion coming from the shower rooms that harbored the sauna. Just ahead of them, Paz was standing dumbfounded. "Paz, what's happening?" Amanda called out.

"I…I can't look away." Paz responded…almost sounding _guilty_. Both Lydia and Amanda approached Paz who was facing the direction of the sauna. There it was. Snake and Kaz were duking it out on deck…completely naked. Lydia's face flushed a thousand shades of red. She wanted to look away…but she couldn't! _Lydia, stop being a pervert! NO, you're not a pervert!_

"Would you look at that!" Amanda chuckled. " _Big_ boys."

"Jesus Christ." Lydia smacked her forehead, still keeping her eyes on the… _fight_.

"They just bursted out of the shower rooms and started…fighting." Paz admitted.

"Maybe this will teach you!" Snake yelled as he slammed his fists into Kaz's chest for a devastating blow. Lydia crossed her arms. Snake was pissed.

"What did he do?" Paz asked, innocently.

"Miller is a two-timer." Amanda placed a hand on her hip.

"You son of a bitch!" Kaz yelled as he swung his right fist at Snake's face.

Snake easily caught his fist and smiled. "Not bad, but not good enough!" Snake pulled Kaz forward and punched him in the chest a second time, this time knocking the breath out of Kaz! Both of their bodies were already covered with bruises and nearly bleeding from a dozen places.

"How long have they been like this?" Lydia asked.

"For a while, I heard shouting from the shower area." Paz replied. "I was concerned so I came to check it out and then _this_ happens!" She spread out her arms.

Kaz took another swing at Snake and yelled, "Try this, then!" Snake only parried and responded in kind. He jabbed him in his right ribs, but Snake wasn't aiming for anything that would cripple Kaz. He was surely teaching him a lesson. Kaz stumbled backward and wiped some blood dripping from his split bottom lip.

"You're one tough bastard, Boss." Kaz muttered under his breath. Kaz was…smiling. He was enjoying this?! It made her blood boil and made her want to jump in the middle of them and choke him to death. More soldiers started to crowd around the more they got into the fight.

"I've never seen a fight like this before." Amanda said, still mesmerized by the men.

"It's Snake's way of teaching a lesson. He used to fight me all the time. Cram my arm out of socket. Throw me across the room…it's his way of…discipline?" The sweat was glistening off their bodies as the sun's rays touched them. About ten, long, excruciating minutes passed until the both of them tired themselves out. They were a few feet from one another, catching their breath.

"Heh." Snake chuckled. Kaz began to quietly laugh, himself. Before Lydia knew it, both of them were laughing.

"How…bizarre." Paz narrowed her eyes and scrunched up her face into a sour look. They came in for an embrace and congratulated one another.

"What the…fuck?" Lydia nearly fell over.

"I didn't think you could keep up." Boss complimented.

"Here I was, thinking the same thing. Nice fight, Boss." Kaz and Snake slapped their hands together in a shake. They stood there for a good minute while the men watching hooted and hollered.

"That was the most idiotic thing I've ever seen." Amanda dully noted. The men were thrown some towels then wrapped up their belongings before heading back into the shower area to probably fetch their clothes.

"Yeah, I think I'm officially done with today."


	44. Chapter 44

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise!**

 **Author's Note: Welcome back, everyone! Not gonna lie, this one is pretty slow moving. Here is the next chapter; I hope you enjoy! :3 There's going to be another chapter this week only because this one is really "Part One." I didn't want to put you guys through another 10,000+ word chapter again lol**

 **Bobby Jones. The Real One:** Heh. Hell yeah! Gotta love that bromance ;3

 **Guest K:** Don't need gunfights or deadly conflict, just some good 'ol manly brawling in the buff ^_^ lol. I'm glad you enjoyed that last chapter lol!

 **Guest:** I'm so happy you caught that foreshadow! :D I, for one, would have LOVED to hear the english dub of that fight. Kiefer Sutherland or David Hayter with Robin Atkin Downes woulda just murdered it lmao xD Here's the next chapter! Enjoy! :3

* * *

 **"Don't wish it away.**

 **Don't look at it like it's forever.**

 **Between you and me I could honestly say,**

 **That things can only get better.**

 **And while I'm away,**

 **Dust out the demons inside.**

 **And it won't be long before you and me run**

 **To the place in our hearts where we hide."**

 **-Elton John**

* * *

 **November 25, 1974: 01:00**

Like the unexpected wails of the damned, Lydia's radio blared to cut the silence of her sound sleep. "You've got to be kidding me." Lydia threw the sheets off of her and answered the call. "This is Matthews."

"Lydia, this is serious. Zadornov has disappeared from his cell." It was Kaz. The last person she wanted to hear from at one in the morning. Although hearing from him was sour, the news he brought was even worse.

"How the hell did that happen?" Lydia swung her legs off the bed and yawned.

"He must have used his prosthetic as a blowtorch to cut through the bars. There was a soldier that went to go check on him and just let me know."

"Well he couldn't have gotten far. You want me to go get him?"

"I've already let Snake know."

"Good, I would hate to do something behind his back." Lydia snidely remarked. "Any idea where he went?"

"Yeah." Kaz sounded disappointed. "We managed to narrow down his location using a transmitter we planted on him yesterday. Show's that he's hanging out near the Ravine in El Cenagal region of Río del Jade. It shows like he's on the move."

"On my way. Hail a chopper for me." Lydia kept it short and dressed in dark green attire.

Lydia strapped on her tactical harness and walked out into the cool night. On the Helipad located on the Living-Quarters Platform, Morpho awaited her arrival. Snake and Kaz were waiting for her next to it. "Mornin'." Lydia greeted over the whirring blades. Both of them were bruised and battered from the fight yesterday. Kaz's split lip was starting to heal, but there were other dark bruises from where Snake's brute force collided with his face. She could only imagine what the rest of his body looked like.

"Good morning." Kaz responded.

"We're counting on you."

"Why aren't you going, Snake?"

"I can't have all the fun. Besides you were cooped up here when we were out taking down Peace Walker."

"Gee, thanks for thinking of me. I'll go get our crazy Russian back." Lydia nodded. "Río del Jade, right? I'll be back with our man!"

"Good luck!" Kaz called out.

"There's no luck on the field." Lydia sighed. "But I get it. Thank you." Lydia climbed into Morpho and took off. She watched the base get farther away before shutting the entry-door. "Mornin' Morpho!" Lydia called out.

"Good morning, ma'am! I got you some coffee! It's in that holder back there!" Lydia's eyebrows arched up as she looked around her. In a cup-holder at the back of the chopper, there was a mug of hot coffee all for her! "Awh, thanks Morpho! You're the best!"

"That's what I hear!" Morpho laughed. "It'll be a while till we get there. Just relax, we'll get him in no time."

About an hour passed before they reached the ravine where they last saw his transmission. Lydia jumped out of the chopper into the dense woods. "Matthews to Mother Base. I've made it to the Ravine. Looking for the target now."

"Good, the transmitter is still showing he's in the area. Sorry there's no actual tracker, we had to be careful he didn't notice." Kaz responded.

"Let's just play 'Hot or Cold' as I find my way to him, yeah?"

"Make sure to look in every corner, he could be hiding anywhere."

"Hot or Cold, Kaz?" He sighed over the comms.

"Right now you're warm. I would head east to the small base." She turned to the east and proceeded toward the small base that was recorded onto the map from Snake's last visit. She followed a small man-made path and soon saw the camp after about a mile of walking.

"Made it."

"You're definitely in a hot zone. I have a good feeling about that place." Kaz spoke.

"Alright, I'll look around." In the middle of the area was a large two-story shelter that looked mighty suspicious. _I guess I could start there. No trouble with that._ Lydia looked around, there were no enemies to note, they must've all been sleeping or something. Lydia walked up to a bright yellow ladder that led up to the second story. She grabbed a hold of it and begad to ascend to floor above. Once she was at the top, the wooden floor creaked below her. _Shit, I got to be careful._

Not too far away she could hear breathing. There was an opening to her right and left. Closing her eyes to conentrate, the shaky breaths could be heard from the room to her left. She grinned to herself and crouched down. Lydia gently maneuvered her way into the room to see Zadornov sitting on his knees in the corner of the room. He was dressed in his khaki trench coat that could literally stand out in anything except a desert. Too bad he wasn't facing the door. Lydia bit her bottom lip and proceeded to make her way to him. Once within grabbing reach, she pulled out her combat knife and lunged forward. At the sudden sound of her movement, Zadornov began to turn around, but all too late! Lydia grabbed him in a choke hold before he had the chance.

"Heh heh…so you found me."

"Yeah it wasn't that hard either. Why are you roaming around?"

"Just…going for a stroll is all." She tightened her grip at his response.

"I'm taking you back."

"S-stop that! I can't breathe."

"Quite frankly, I don't want to listen to your bullshit the whole ride over." Within no time, Zadornov passed out. "Kaz, I've got him. Call Morpho for me, I have my hands full."

"Copy." Kaz responded. Lydia lifted up the unconscious Zadornov and carried him over her shoulders. She eventually made it to the LZ and loaded Zadornov onto the bird before climbing in herself. She sat him up and strapped him into a chair as Morpho left for Base.

"That didn't take very long." Morpho hollered.

"Lucky guess." Lydia shrugged. She sat down across from Zadornov and watched him closely until he woke up with a jolt.

"Good morning." She greeted.

"Ah, it's Lydia." Zadornov chuckled to himself. "I thought it was you."

"Who else was going to get your sorry ass?" Lydia sassed, crossing her right leg over her left. "You going to tell me how you got out?"

"Heh, wouldn't you like to know? I told you, I was just out for a stroll." Lydia narrowed here eyes.

"Alright, well we've still got a while till we reach Mother Base. If you're going to do anything, do me a favor and jump out the chopper. No doubt you'll die on impact."

"So harsh for a woman."

"I've got nothing nice to say to you. You better hope we don't take that arm of yours when we get back. You're _not_ getting out again." Zadornov only scoffed to himself and grinned as he stared at her square in the eyes.

When they arrived at Mother Base, there were two soldiers that led Zadornov back to his holding cell below deck. "Nice job." Kaz spoke. "Hey, do you mind if I talk to you?"

Lydia sized him up and raised an eyebrow. "Yes, I do mind."

"Just hear me out?"

"I don't know." Lydia diverted her eyes away from him and started to walk away.

"I think this whole _thing_ started by miscommunication. I realized that when Boss came to me yesterday. Come on Lydia, hear me out."

"Kaz, I'm tired. I have a lot of work to do." Half of that was a lie, she was just tired. Lydia shut him out with her thoughts and walked to her quarters when he gave up following her. When she arrived in her room she instantly tore off her clothes and crashed onto her bed half-naked. _That fucking Zadornov, hopefully he doesn't wander off again._

After Lydia had woke up from her much needed nap, she found herself on her routine route to the Command platform around 12:00. On the way, outside the living quarters, there were six troops setting up goals of some kind. "Hey." Lydia approached them. "What are you guys up to?"

"Oh, Sub-C!" It was Viper, someone she hadn't seen in a while. With him, he had some guys that she hadn't seen before. "You wanna help out? We're setting up fútbol grounds!"

"Is that so?" Lydia crossed her arms. "I suppose a little fútbol never hurt anyone." Lydia shrugged. "What can I help you with?"

"If you wanna help set up the other goal and place it where I marked with chalk that would be more than great. You're the best Sub-C!" Lydia nodded and proceeded to help out Viper and the gang set up the goals. They placed the scoring mechanisms opposite sides of each other with plenty of room in between. Granted, it wasn't the size of a full fútbol field but it would get the job done.

"I'm going to get the ball!" One of the guys called out and jogged away.

"Thanks Sub-C. That doctor in the chair agreed to be our referee. We're gonna do a tournament. First up is us, the Colombians versus Costa Rica. Then it's going to be Americans versus the Nicaraguans. You wanna join the Colombian side with us, eh?"

"You forget, I'm not from Colombia." Lydia crossed her arms. "Although I fucking love Colombia, I can't change my American roots."

"But you replanted those roots. Come on Sub-C, I'm begging ya!" Viper clapped his hands together.

"Hey!" Another man shouted aloud. It was Bald Eagle, the giant, muscular American she had gone on a mission with not too long ago. "Stop haggling our best player."

"She hasn't even agreed to be on a team yet, man!"

"I don't know what spawned the idea that you guys actually think I'm good at this stuff." Lydia laughed to herself.

"Eh? You don't play sports Sub-C?!"

"Do I look like I play sports? I play the infiltration type of sports, not soccer."

"Ew, you _belong_ in America." Viper let out a sigh. "You called it _soccer._ It's like I don't even know you anymore, Sub-C!"

"You're so dramatic." Lydia punched him in the arm. "Alright, I'll be on the American side as punishment. You're going down in the finals tho, I'll tell you that!"

"Haha! Just sit back and watch!"

The more people caught wind of the little soccer tourney, the more people showed up with an array of snacks and drinks. Some of them were even carrying around a small flag that represented their home-nation. Across the make-shift field, Lydia spotted Chico and Paz…who didn't look all that amused. Huey rolled up in the middle of the field with the ball sitting on his lap.

"A-alright. The first match is between Costa Rica and Colombia. Take your positions!" The men took their position on the small field and awaited further instructions. "As a reminder, general rules apply. You'll be playing for 30 minutes total, first half being taken at the 15 minute mark…of course." Lydia nodded to herself as she listened to Huey. The opposing teams were getting riled up. Huey brought a whistle to his lips and blew it before throwing the ball up into the air.

Once he had rolled out of the way, the match had begun! Hoots and hollers from the audience made it feel like a real soccer game, but by the time the clock had run out, Costa Rica came out on top.

"Next up is America versus Nicaragua!" Lydia and Bald Eagle made their way to the field with the other Nicaraguan team members. She looked around and noticed their half of the field was just the two of them!

"Do you have more players?" Huey asked.

"Uhhhh?" Lydia shrugged. "Hey Bald Eagle, where are our guys?"

"I don't know!" He crossed his arms and scanned the crowd. "Come on! I can't believe you!"

"They're way too good for us, man!" Shouted a guy from the large crowd.

"You're just a bunch of chickens!" Bald Eagle argued. "Our Sub-C has bigger balls than you! You want to disgrace her?!"

"Better than getting our asses beat!"

"Alright, alright." Lydia held up her arms. "Huey, I guess we would rather surrender than get embarrassingly beat to death." Lydia dropped her arms.

"Alright…well…winner by default is Nicaragua!" More cheers and celebrations erupted from the crowd as well as the Nicaraguan team. Partially disappointed, Lydia stepped back into the mass and continued to watch the final match.

"Our final match between Nicaragua and Costa Rica will begin shortly! Players, make any preparations you need!" In a past life, Huey was probably a referee of some kind with how good he was with crowds. You never would've known from a geeky guy like him.

In no time, the match had started with Costa Rica and Nicaragua at each other's throats. They had some crazy soccer rivalry in their countries to begin with and Lydia could sense the tension rising the more the game progressed. Right when the 15 minute mark was about to pass, one of the Costa Rican men collided into a bulky Nicaraguan. Both of them began shouting at each other in Spanish. Every bad word Lydia knew was being thrown like knives at one another.

"Hey!" Huey rolled into the field. "I thought we had forsaken our countries, become one with the earth," he said. "We're not competing for national pride here. And we are not fighting for the good of any one country. This is not a war. Soccer's a peaceful sport…am I right?" Everyone was quiet and stared blankly at the man who had just interrupted the game. Everyone nervously nodded like they had done something wrong.

Who knew that Huey had it in him to say something like that? "I'm out of the game, because of that run-in, my knee is hurting pretty bad." The Costa Rican player wined. "I'm gonna go to the med bay.

"But if you leave, we lose!" Another one shouted.

"Oh wait!" Chico hollered. "What about Paz?!"

"What?!" Paz balled up her fists and looked down to Chico like a mother was about to scold her child.

"Paz! Oh perfect! The Angel of Peace to guide us to victory!"

"I didn-!" There was a swarm of men behind her that had pushed her into the ring. Her face was red, fuming with some type of malice. It was almost comical.

"What's going on here?" Kaz had approached field-side with Lydia. "Oh, soccer, huh? Paz is in there?!"

"You just missed it, they pushed her in. She's so embarrassed."

"Come on Paz! I believe in you!" Chico hollered through a rolled up piece of paper.

"Costa Rica has the advantage." Lydia caught him up. "No doubt with Paz on the team, the Nicaraguans will be more distracted."

"That brings the player count back to the appropriate amount." Huey decided. Huey blew the whistle for the match to continue. Paz just stood there at first, not knowing what to do. She stuck out like a sore thumb. But soon enough, she started to get more comfortable…well as comfortable as she could be with how hot and sweaty everyone was getting. The Costa Rican team had made it deep into the the opponents' side of the field. On an out-of-bounds call, Paz had picked up the ball. She had the perfect line to get a shot in.

"Go for it! Shoot!" Chico shouted. He wasn't even Costa Rican and he was cheering for her, how cute.

"That kid's totally got a crush on our Paz."

"You think so?" Lydia asked, keeping an eye on Chico as he intently watched the girl.

"He's always following her around like that cat he has." Kaz shrugged. "No doubt when he gets older he'll want to run away with her."

"Let your imagination run wild, Kaz. You're good at that." Lydia dully noted. Paz dropped the ball and launched it as hard as she could. To everyone's surprise, the keeper blocked it! The crowd grew even more wild as the match progressed. The determination in the Costa Rican team swelled once they had lost the lead…but in the end…they didn't pull back up.

"Congrats to Nicaragua! The first champions of our soccer tourney!" Huey announced. The Nicaraguans from the audience and the team all rallied together after they had congratulated each other on a good game. Once the hot crowd dispersed, the majority of them found some type of shade to hide under and cool off from the sun.

"Hey Lydia." Kaz nudged her arm. She turned to her right and saw him holding up a cassette tape. "I made something for ya. Why don't you listen to it when you have the chance?"

Lydia eyed the tape he was holding in his fingers. On it he had written _Love Deterrence._ "Love Deterrence?" Lydia took the tape out of his grasp. "What kind of song title is that?"

"One that I wrote. It's about a girl who can't express her true feelings…Why don't you listen to it?"

"Oh no, you're _singing_?" Lydia puckered her lips in a sour expression.

"What, you don't like my singing?" Kaz wined playfully. "Nah, it's just the guitar. Why don't you tell me what you think? Paz and I are going to start a band together." He winked.

"Oh really?" Lydia's face held no emotion and her tone was dull. "Is this for Peace Day?"

"You guessed it."

"Ok, I'll listen to it later." Lydia stuffed it into her breast pocket. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a little bit of work to do."

"W-where are you going?" Kaz jogged up to her side as she started to walk away.

"I thought I would go look at ZEKE. I hadn't seen it since it's beginning stages."

"Right, and they already installed the nuke." Lydia's eye twitched at the mention of the missile. "Why don't I come with you?"

"Kaz, why are you following me around like a lost puppy? Right now I can only stand so much of a dose of you. Don't you have things to do like an expense report or something?"

"Don't _you_ have Intel stuff to take care of?" He shot back. "Besides, you might want the company."

"I _don't_ want the company. And I don't want to argue this with you. Leave me alone." Lydia shut him out and proceeded to the hangar. She felt bad leaving him behind…but who was she kidding? She was still pissed as hell! Damn that soft-spot of hers. Lydia clenched her fist the more she descended toward to hangar. Once inside, Peace Walker looked like it was folded in half now that it was completed. It was still tremendous. It had an amazing amount of armor and was even deadly looking in its dormant state.

"This is what I call a bipedal weapons system." Huey rolled up beside her. He was drinking out of a bottle of water.

"Impressive."

"Look, about the other day…" Huey started. "I didn't mean to offend. I said a few things I should't have and stepped over my bounds."

"Thanks for the apology." Lydia crossed her arms. "Now that ZEKE is complete, why are you down here?"

"I came down looking for Strangelove…but I guess she's not here." Huey looked around in his immediate scope of vision.

"I hadn't seen her since yesterday. She's probably hibernating from working over-night."

"Oh!" Huey smacked his forehead with his palm. "You're probably right. Silly me, thinking she was down here."

"Are you ok there, doc?" Huey blushed once Lydia suggestively raised her eyebrow. "Do I sense some history going on there?"

"N-no! I don't know what you're talking about." He immediately moved his arms to the arm-rests and began to roll away. As Huey got farther away, Lydia looked up at the monstrous deterrent.

"I can only hope this thing will keep up all safe." Lydia sighed to herself, taking in it's enormous stature. It looked difficult to take down, and no doubt could probably move as fast as Peace Walker. No telling the destruction it would cause if it fell into the wrong hands. Lydia shuddered at the fact. _I guess I should look into who's willing to help us out with nuclear fuel now that we're in the business._ She eyed the large spear-like canister that rested on on of ZEKE's massive appendages.

She realized she had been admiring ZEKE too long when her radio sounded off for an incoming call. Lydia pressed on her earpiece and spoke. "This is Matthews."

"Sub-C! I can't find him anywhere!" It was a staff member.

"Calm down, can't find who?"

"Z-Zadornov! He's got out again!"

"AGAIN?!" She yelled a little too loud. "I thought I said to increase security around his cell. You're telling me that didn't happen?!"

"I'm sorry ma'am, we took away his prosthetic and did a full body check before putting him in. We had more guys here but the soccer game-"

"Priorities, people!" Her blood was boiling. How could he get out again without anyone noticing! "Stay there and don't move. I need to tell Snake about this."

She dialed into Snake's frequency and spoke. "Snake, I have some bad news."

"What is it?" He almost responded instantly.

"Zadornov had just up n' disappeared from his cell."

"What, again?!" He sounded just as confused as she.

"Yeah…we made sure to take off his prosthetic and increase security before locking him away again."

"You think he had help?"

"Not likely." Lydia responded, making her way up to the ground-level of the platform. "We need to locate and retrieve him as soon as possible. You want to take it this time?"

"It will be my pleasure." Snake ended the transmission. Hopefully, With Snake going after him this time, he gets scared enough to stay in his damn cell!

Lydia's journey to the Intel platform wasn't very long. The staff was hard at work marking updated recon and other landmarks to maps, documents, everything on the books. The room was bustling with stuff to do. "Sub-C, welcome in!" Orca greeted from across the room with a salute.

"Long time no see." She shrugged. She approached Orca at his desk and sighed. "Well, our old Russian friend escaped again."

"What? Really?"

"He probably went back to the same place." Lydia sighed. "Somewhere he's probably familiar with."

"Sounds like him." Orca shrugged. "So what brings your visit?"

"I have some work to do." Lydia responded and stuffed her hands in her pockets. On his desk were a few papers and an iDroid. "What? You have an iDroid, too?"

"R&D Just finished it and brought it to me. Quite frankly, I don't know what to do with it. The guy showed me a little bit but I'm at a loss."

"That must mean Huey approved the model he gave to Raven the other day." Lydia smiled. "That means we can finally get rid of these radios." Lydia was so happy she could kiss the iDroid. "This thing can hold so much data." She pointed to the paper-weight.

"That's what I hear."

"Hey, that gives me an idea." Lydia perked up. She turned to the rest of the room, everyone was hard at work until she interrupted. "Alright men, listen up." She grabbed the iDroid off the counter. "After you're done with your current projects, I would like you to get started on making a central intel hub for this baby right here." She held up the device. "This is the future of our missions. There's a lot of info that could get stashed on this thing and could help us out if we have live, updated information. I want you to start importing maps. Cities, camps, any hideouts that you've been researching and organize them on a single import device for installation. Next is personal information on POIs. R&D has found a way to track individuals so they show up in real-time on these babies. If our intel is legit, our lives could be made a lot easier."

"I'll tell our men out in the field. They can't have an iDroid on the field but the majority of them are armed with tracking plants that show up on our radar."

"Excellent, so we can take that data and import it into the iDroid, too."

"Yes ma'am!"

"Thank you for all your hard work. Make sure you hold onto your paper copies, who knows when we might need one of those. The person who's least busy right now, start programming that main hub we could load all our information to."

"Yes ma'am!" A random guy in the corner of the room shouted out.

"Much appreciated." Lydia smiled then turned back to Orca. "Now don't mind me, I'm going to take our good 'ol nuclear database binder and sift through that so I can find our who's willing to give us Nuclear Fuel."

"Good idea, there's a lot of countries that would report us…and want to take us off the map if we go to the wrong person."

"Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of." She sat down in an empty desk adjacent to Orca's. "No doubt there's an abundance of nukes everywhere…it's like playing pin the tail on the donkey on who to pick for this." Lydia opened the binder and looked at the list of countries. "Of course Russia and the US are out of the picture…that's easy." She sifted through the pages. "Maybe in Central Asia…"

"USSR maybe?"

"Preferable some place _other_ than the Soviets." She sighed. "No doubt anyone in the Soviet Union has access to any and all types of nuclear goods without getting some permission first."

"No kidding."

"There's got to be some old-school fellas who hate the Soviet Union and want to help us out instead. Russia practically _has_ Central Asia, they just swallow everything it seems."

"I would look into the smaller countries, then. Ones that wouldn't stand out."

"You have a world map?" Lydia asked and looked at Orca.

"Sure do." He rolled out from under his desk and opened up a drawer to his right. He pulled out a large map and placed it onto her desk. "There you go."

"Thank you, sir." She smoothed out the map and positioned it closer so she could take a better look at Asia. She grabbed a pen and paper that was randomly sitting close by and started to jot down the smaller countries that had become a part of the Soviet Union. _Kazakhstan. Kyrgyzstan. Tajikistan. Turkmenistan. Uzbekistan._ She stared at the legal pad for a little while before placing down the pen. She took the map and returned it to its appropriate spot. _Five to choose from. That narrows it down a lot. Now it's just time to do some good 'ol research._


	45. Chapter 45

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise!**

 **Author's Note: Thank you for your patience everyone :) Good news is that everything is ok! If you are ever interested on when the next update will be, I put that info on my profile. Here's the next chapter; I hope you enjoy! :3 I'm a few days late, BUUUUUT happy anniversary to HAU! Thank you to everyone who has followed, favorited, reviewed and stuck around since the beginning. You guys are seriously the best 3 MUAH.**

 ****MATURE CONTENT WARNING: Violence**

* * *

 **"I love you; I hope these thoughts reach you.**

 **I'm sure one day it'll come true.**

 **Such feelings are too painful...**

 **I don't like the me who locked up these quiet feelings,**

 **And confined herself in a shell.**

 **Each time that I halfheartedly hold ,myself back,**

 **The pain merely grows.**

 **What do you wish for?**

 **I want to be close to you,**

 **Forever, forever that's all I want and yet..."**

 **-Akihiro Honda**

* * *

 _Love Deterrence._ The beautiful strum of the guitar strings playing at her eardrums had been replayed dozens of times. Each time the tape came to an end, Lydia instantly found herself rewinding it. She could only imagine _his_ strong hands gliding up and down the guitar's neck and plucking away at the six strings that were begging for his rhythmic attention. With each note, she could sense some type of loneliness…

What loneliness was she thinking of? Lydia wondered to herself as she glanced over some reports sent in from a few intel agents that were stationed in Uzbekistan. One of their agents, Crocodile, had found his way into a private militia that had linked access to Soviet nuclear fuel. If Lydia could get in contact with him, then she would have an in. Problem solved.

As the tape came to another bitter end, Lydia signed at the silence that followed afterward. Around the intel room, the majority of soldiers had left for the day to resume tomorrow. Lydia examined one of the many clocks that were hoisted up on the wall. _21:00_. No doubt Snake had already brought back Zadornov from his second escape.

Lydia finally took off her headphones and ejected the tape from her player. She stared at Kaz's handwriting. _About a girl that doesn't know how to express her feelings, huh?_ Lydia cracked a smile. _I guess I should return this to him._ _I could talk to him about Uzbekistan, too, while I have his attention._ Lydia followed through and called him over the comms. "Kaz, you there?"

"I hear you." He answered.

"You mind if I meet up with you? I have some things to talk to you about."

"I'm always free for you whenever you need your 'dose'. I'm in my office at the command tower if you want to stop by." He mocked at what she had said to him earlier.

"I'll be there in a flash." Lydia smiled and ended the transmission. She stood up and grabbed a hold of the maps and reports from Uzbekistan before making her way to the command tower. She ascended up to his office and scanned herself in with her key-card. Upon walking in, Kaz looked up at her from a large pile of paperwork on his desk.

"Oh no, don't tell me you're bringing me more paperwork?"

"Not necessarily." Lydia chuckled. As the door shut behind her, she sat down in one of two chairs sitting not he opposite side of his desk.

"Then what brings you over?" Kaz leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Nuclear fuel." Lydia placed the map of Uzbekistan as well as the reports from Crocodile on his desk in a neat pile. "I figure since we're in the business already, I took the initiative to look into who we should purchase fuel from."

"Look at you." Kaz chuckled with a half-grin. "One step ahead of me."

"Always." Lydia smiled back. "Anyway, one of our guys, Crocodile, found his way into a small anti-Soviet PF that has access to Soviet supplied nuclear fuel. If we could get in contact with Crocodile and strike a deal of some sort with the commander of this PF, we would be set on ZEKE's maintenance."

"Uzbekistan's a small country that isn't really on the radar. Good thinking, Lydia. If you get me a way to reach him, I'll set up a meeting. There's no way they'd resist our offer."

"What are you thinking?" Lydia raised an eyebrow.

"Heh. I'm thinking we supply them with security whenever they need it for the right price only if they supply us with nuclear fuel. With how popular we're getting, no doubt they'll go for it. They'll sell us nuclear fuel at a fraction of the cost."

"Well…just you telling me that off the bat, I'm not so convinced. But you do have a way with words. You're good at convincing people to do things. A true business man."

"You flatter me, Lydia." Kaz stood up from his chair and leaned over his desk. "Although, I'm not so good at convincing the one person that matters."

"Oh, wait just a sec. I remembered the other reason why I was here." Lydia changed the subject and dug into her breast pocket. She pulled out the tape and set it on top of the desk's surface. "I listened to it."

"Ah!" Kaz's face lit up. "What did you think? Paz and I are going to start a band!" He walked around the desk and leaned his butt against it once adjacent to Lydia. She looked up at his towering figure and nervously smiled.

"It was…nice. I've always enjoyed listening to you play guitar."

"Is that so?" Kaz grinned, taking too much pride in himself.

"That _is_ so." Lydia responded, readjusting herself in her seat. "It honestly reminded me a lot of Colombia." She smiled to herself, breaking her eye-contact with Kaz. "How things used to be."

"Ahhh the good 'ol days." Kaz began. In Lydia's peripherals, Kaz stood up and wrapped both of his hands around each of the arm rests on her chair and leaned down. He was still towering over her, close to her face. "You know…" He inched his face closer. "Things can still go back to how they used to be."

Her heart was racing faster the closer she allowed him to get. "Kaz, I-" They were both abruptly cut off when his radio interrupted the moment. Kaz sighed and removed himself from her bubble. He answered the call.

"This is Miller…you've _got_ to be kidding." Kaz clenched his fist. "I'm going to have to tell Snake. Thanks." Once Kaz ended the transmission he hit his fist on his desk. "I swear to all things good…if Zadornov finds his way out one more time I'm going to replace everything he owns with my own SHIT."

"He got out again?" Lydia's eye twitched. "I'm going to look at his cell in the brig. Maybe it's a faulty lock?"

"There's no need. We checked all the locks and did maintenance on them after the first time he escaped." Kaz readied himself to call Snake.

"I'm starting to suspect this could be an inside job." Lydia stood up from her chair. "How could he escape three times in forty-eight hours with NO ONE seeing him in the act? It's near impossible unless he had paid someone off somehow."

"You might be right. I'll increase security around the building. Someone should at least see him get out. He's no Snake and can't just sneak by as he pleases."

Kaz broke the news to Snake. In no time, Snake was off to recover him for the third time. "Third time's the charm." Lydia sighed as Morpho flew into the night sky.

"We just can't catch a break."

"We wouldn't be in business if we had breaks." Lydia lightly punched him in the arm.

"Ow!" He over-dramatized and held onto his right bicep.

"Oh please, you big baby. At least your face is starting to look a little better from that fight with Snake." She mentioned. He still had some light yellow bruises from where Snake had hit him. His split-lip was nearly healed. "I've always found it amazing at how fast you heal from your wounds. I remember it took you not even ten days to recover after before Snake and I kicked your ass at your little tournament."

"Oh you mean after your team ambushed me?" Kaz crossed his arms. "Now _that_ I will never forget. You made a lasting impression on me, you know that?"

"I did? How so?"

"Walk with me back to the quarters and I'll tell you." Kaz grinned and held out his hand to lead the way.

"Fine." Lydia rolled her eyes and began walking to the housing platform.

"You were the first woman to ever dominate me." Kaz sighed. Lydia's face scrunched up at the word 'dominate'. "Oh, well in combat, I mean. Not…uh…." He smacked his head. "Ever since you stopped me from opting out, you've just amazed me." Kaz sighed. He stopped in his tracks that caused Lydia to stop walking as well. She turned around to face his still figure. His features were serious as he stared at her through his sunglasses. "I'm sorry."

"You're what?"

"Come on, Lydia. You don't have to hear me say it again. What I did to you was…"

"Fucked up?" Lydia finished his sentence.

"To be fair, I was just as angry." Kaz announced.

"How were _you_ angry?" Lydia pushed for an answer.

"The other day I heard you talking with Huey. He was saying something like he could give you the life you wanted…" Lydia sighed. "And I remember you saying you knew him from America…"

"You think I have a thing with Huey?"

"I wouldn't be surprised with the things I overheard."

"Well…you are mistaken." Lydia crossed her arms. "I could never have a thing for someone else after what we've been through." Lydia inhaled deeply. "Kaz, I'm still in love with you. I've been frustrated because you haven't returned my feelings…or even acknowledged them. You reacted by _laughing_ at me."

"You don't have to remind me." Kaz stepped closer to her. "It was wrong. That's why I want to make it up to you."

"You don't like me, Kaz." Lydia frowned. "Why should I give my feelings another chance?"

"Sleep on the fact that I want to make it up to you somehow. I'll come to you when _I'm_ ready."

"What do you mean?"

"You'll find out." Kaz smiled sweetly. "I'm gonna head to bed. Snake's going to give me a call when he's on the coast."

"Alright…well sleep good."

"Not a chance." Kaz winked at her and walked alone to the housing platform. _There he goes again._ Lydia waited a few minutes before continuing to her room.

* * *

 **November 27, 1974: 05:00**

In a span of 24 hours, Mother Base's mighty escape artist had succeeded in escaping his cell three more times. At 05:00, Lydia got, yet again, a rude awakening. "This is Matthews."

"Lydia…uhh…Zadornov is out again." It was Kaz, sounding just as tired as she.

"You have to be fucking joking." Lydia sat up from her bed.

"We have a feeling he might be on base. To cover more ground, why don't you help look for him? Come to the command platform and help out Snake."

"I'll be right there." Lydia yawned and ended the transmission. "Son of a bitch." She readied herself in her tactical gear and made her way to the Command platform. The sun was barely cracking over the horizon. "Snake!" Lydia called out as she jogged dup to him. "Any ideas?"

"The other guys are searching everywhere else. I've only got the target practice room left to search."

"You got it. I'll head over there with you." Snake nodded. The both of them made their way to the training room below deck. Outside of the door, the both of them readied their pistols. They waltzed into the large, empty room and instantly covered their respective corners. Lydia waved her hand to motion her side was clear. She turned to Snake, who had also shot her the same gesture. He bent his left arm and motioned her to move forward through the compound. Lydia nodded and proceeded his orders.

Lydia made her way to the Kill Room as Snake remained to check out the target-practice area. She was about to descend the ladder that led into the pit until two gunshots rang through the area. "Shit!" Lydia turned around. A third shot followed. It was coming from upstairs in the target-practice area! Lydia bolted and ran up the stairs as swiftly as she could. Up on the second level, Zadornov had just shot something from his arm. Wait…his actual arm?! Zadornov's red, mechanical arm came flying off at high speed! As Snake moved to dodge to projectile, Lydia followed. Lucky for Snake, it seemed Zadornov had bad aim. The device hit against the metal that Snake took cover behind.

Lydia poked her head out from cover to see Zadornov's head fall back with an exhale as Snake fired his weapon. Snake came out from cover and proceeded toward Zadornov with Lydia following suit. Snake hovered over Zadornov…he was dead. Blood was seeping from his chest as his eyes grew dull. "Kaz, I found Zadornov." Snake backed away from the body. "I had to kill him." Lydia watched Snake crouch to verify the man's pulse. "Something's not right here…I'm thinking he had a friend."

"Same here." Lydia spoke. Snake suddenly stood up and looked around.

"What's going on?!" The ground shook below them.

"Whoa!" Lydia caught her balance and held onto the railing. "Snake, what's happening?!" The expression on Snake's face was surprising, his eye was wide as if he had just heard something life-changing over his ear-piece.

"ZEKE is moving. Get outside!" Snake bolted down the stairs and made his way to the exit that led up to the deck.

"Right behind you!" The alarm started to blare as Lydia approached the door. "Shit!"

"Lydia!" Kaz sounded off through her ear-piece. "I need you to go to the armory! Snake's gonna need all the help he can get!"

"Got it!" Lydia sprinted her way past some other men in panic. On the R&D platform, she could see ZEKE rise from the depths of the hangar. Who the hell could be piloting that thing?! Did someone sneak onto base? Zadornov must have been a distraction of some kind! "Follow me!" Lydia shouted to no one in particular, just to anyone that could hear. "Meet me in the armory!" There were a few soldiers that responded and began to follow.

"Lydia I'm going to link you in on this open channel, Huey and I can't shut ZEKE down. You're not going to believe what's happening." Kaz spoke.

"-I made some modifications…" Who was that? A familiar, feminine voice filled her ear. From the sound of it, she didn't sound as innocent as she once claimed to be.

"Paz?!"

"Oh Lydia, so good of you to join in." Her voice was darker…full of animosity. She snickered through the comms. "I thought you would find me out a lot sooner, I bet you were right on my tail." _Now that I think of it…her face during some of our conversations…soccer…Zadornov's easy escapes without being seen…something wasn't right. Now I'm putting two and two together._ Lydia and about a dozen men made it into the armory, one of them were passing out the big guns, rocket and grenade launchers with AR's to everyone that stopped by. Lydia grabbed a hold of a launcher that was passed to her and strapped it around her back. Each of the men were armed with 3 missiles each.

"Paz…what are you-?" Snake was dumbfounded.

"Never thought I'd be into machines, huh?" Lydia muted her audio output and turned to the men who were now armed.

"Alright, Paz has hijacked ZEKE. The Boss and Mother Base could potentially go down if we let Paz get away. Put your personal feelings aside, we have to bring her down or otherwise the lot of us will be dead! Use your missiles wisely…if an opening looks good…light it up."

"Zadornov's escape…was a diversion for her to get a hold of ZEKE!" Kaz spoke up through her ear-piece.

"I need each one of you to stay in a safe distance. Give yourself a fifty meter shooting distance. If you see ZEKE approaching you, get the hell out of there. Do not aim for the nuclear spear at any cost."

"Yes ma'am!"

"Alright, move out! Head to the R&D platform, go!" The dozen men filed out of the armory and back out onto the ground floor of the Command Platform. On the other line, Paz had mentioned she was taking ZEKE back to her leaders in _Cipher_.

"Paz! Get down from there!" She heard Snake warn her one last time.

"Do not call me that! I'm Pacifica Ocean!" Paz shot back. Lydia bolted outside and turned toward the R&D Platform. ZEKE let out a harrowing, mechanical, yell that pierced her ears. Lydia followed her men toward the platform where ZEKE waited. "My name, my age, my mission…" She spoke loud through ZEKE, so all of Mother Base could hear. "Cipher gave them all to me. My entire life has but one purpose - to carry out Cipher's plan."

Lydia stopped once she took cover behind a small, titanium blast wall that had been raised. _Cipher…_ The name swam around in her brain as Paz continued to talk. "The nasty tobacco…the 'angel of peace' crap…the whole 'teen with a dream' routine…I'm through with all of it!"

"Paz! You can't!" Snake shouted.

"I told you not to call me that!" She shouted. ZEKE moved it's massive legs toward Snake. "It makes me want to puke!"

"Men, this is it! Get ready!" Lydia shouted.

"Everything has gone exactly as we planned. Now the real Peace Walker Project is finally about to reach its goal."

"The real project?"

"Ready to fire, ma'am!"

"Ready to fire!" The others were armed, resting their launchers on top of the blast walls.

"Hold your fire, don't shoot while she's near Snake!" Lydia ordered. She watched as Snake stared up at the behemoth…seemingly so small.

"Once upon a time, there were two young men who idolized a hero called The Boss." _Cipher_ … _Two young men?_ Lydia's head started to hurt as 'Paz' began to explain herself. "One day, they suddenly lost the point of origin - the cipher - that was like a mother to them. Unable to come to terms with their sorrow, they each decided to carry on the will of their hero. But they could not agree on what that meant. In the end, they became bitter enemies, and the zero from which they both started was split into two."

 _Cipher…Zero…another man who looked up to the boss…Major Zero?!_ Lydia's eyes grew wide as she stared at Snake who seemed to have just realized it. _He's behind all this?! He sent her?!_ Lydia clenched her jaw and gritted her teeth together. "That son of a bitch. Wanting to ruin my life a second time, huh?"

"You…Snake…have been on the wrong path ever since." Paz snickered. "There is no 'happily ever after' waiting for you in the end. Unless…you obey the will of Cipher! Where does an 'Army Without Borders' call home? A state without borders, of course…a world without borders."

"A world without borders?" Snake dropped his arms to his sides.

"The Cold War order is about to collapse. The age of electronic intelligence is about to begin. The NSA, CSS, NRO, DIA, et cetera, et cetera…the intelligence community that has long bickered amongst itself will be united in a world governed by electrons. Cipher will gather all information, watching over the world and guiding the will of its people, all while they remain blissfully unaware. There will be no one to oppose them! For the first time, the world will be ruled by a single will! Until the new order is in place, you and your army will be the force that protects it." Lydia's eyes shifted to Snake. "You will be Cipher's deterrent, pulling the wool over the eyes of the Cold War order with you charisma and military prowess. Accept our offer, and we will allow you to retain control of MSF and ZEKE."

"That's…an offer?" Snake almost sounded offended.

"The Boss threw down her gun, and with it her life's calling. You - her disciple - have never been able to do that. You are too afraid to let go."

"I was made to fight." Snake stood tall. "I am a gun."

"Is that so?!" Then what do you call this? Is it a gun too?" Paz sassed back in reference to ZEKE. "You are a lousy liar! Admit it - this thing is a monstrosity, a product of your own fear! But not Cipher! Cipher thought of something different. Cipher's going to control guns."

"I'm getting real tired of hearing this bitch talk." Lydia clenched her jaw and ground her teeth.

"That is right. Not deter, control. It is the ultimate approach to the illusion of peace…"

"Control power? You're gonna be disappointed." Snake said breathlessly.

"Then we are done! Thank you for playing! Better luck next time. The offer is rescinded! And now, the ultimatum. ZEKE is already in nuclear strike mode."

"What?!"

"Get ready to fire!" Lydia called out as she readied her own rocket launcher over her shoulder.

"I'm taking the weapon you built and using it to launch a nuclear strike on the east coast of the United States!"

"You're insane! What are you after?!" Snake called out, readying his AR.

"But wait, here is your consolation prize:" Paz snickered. "We are about to show the world just how dangerous a gang of outlaws - an army without borders - can be! You and your men will become pariahs, and you will be wiped off the face of the earth. Rather than heroes, you will be seen as a well-armed, extremist cult prone to indiscriminate outbursts of nuclear aggression. You will give rise to a new world order, an age of deterrence defined by its fear of extremist cult influence. Do you like the picture I am painting, Big Boss?!" ZEKE stood tall.

"She's going to blame us for a nuclear war?!" One of the men to Lydia's right shouted.

"Sounds like it!" Lydia responded back.

"When all is said and done, peace is nothing but a fantasy! A game's a game! You either win or you lose! All you can do is fight! Stop me if you can. The peace sign is the 'v' of victory! Say 'peace'!" Paz mocked.

"This is it!" ZEKE adjusted itself to the north-east. "Fire when ready!"

"Firing!" A stream of rockets blasted off. Some of them missed, but the others hit ZEKE either in the body of on its head. Snake, surprised, turned around. Lydia held a thumbs up and ducked behind the blast-wall. A wave of bullets impacted on the blast-wall. She could feel the wall vibrate from behind her as the bullets attempted to shred away at her flesh. _Jesus!_

"Snake! Use Mother Base's gun platforms! Make your way to the control panel on the edge of the deck! We have her marked already, you just need to activate them!" Kaz ordered.

"We've got you covered, Snake! Go!" Lydia shouted as she readied another rocket. As Snake fired off some AR rounds at ZEKE, he proceeded to make his way to the control panel.

Lydia fired off another rocket…only one left until she was out. ZEKE was hit…and hell…did it catch Paz's attention. "Hey!" Lydia taunted and jumped out of cover. "If you ever thought we would work for that prick, Cipher, you definitely missed that mark!"

"You like your little rockets, huh?" Paz announced. "Then why don't you have them right back!" A missile hatch opened up on ZEKE and fired them off. From across the platform, there were five missiles headed in Lydia's direction.

"Shit!" Lydia swung the launcher around her back and sprinted away from the homing missiles.

"I got you, Sub-C!" It was Raven! About fifty meters ahead, he was firing at the missiles with a sub-machine gun, attempting to blow the missiles up before they blew her to smithereens.

"Turning right!" Lydia called out. She banked right and looked back to see two missiles were still following her. "Hurry up, Snake!" Her eyes floated to ZEKE. The machine jumped high in the sky and landed on a separate platform…right in the firing range of Mother Base's self defense missiles. There were the last two explosions from behind.

"No more rockets tailing!" Raven called out. "One of our guys are wounded, gonna help him!"

"Thanks, Raven!" Lydia yelled. _Not only does Snake have a clear shot, it looks like I do, too._ Lydia saw Snake finally turn on the controls for the self-defense missiles.

"Boss, we're going to launch soon, hang in there." Kaz spoke. On the opposite platform, ZEKE lowered its body to brace itself for something. The rail gun on the machine began to spark and conduct electricity. "Oh hell."

"Get ready to witness true hell!" Paz shouted from ZEKE.

She first charge fired at the men who were hiding behind the blast-walls, no luck in hitting any of them. The bolt of lightning that shot out from it would probably make anyone implode if it was a direct hit. _If I hit the rail gun with my last rocket, maybe it will cripple ZEKE enough to stop firing._

"Only one minute till launch. Hang in there!" Kaz updated. Snake fired at ZEKE from his position with his AR, nicking away at its armor bullet by bullet. Lydia swung the launcher off her back and around her shoulder. "ZEKE looks like it's going to fire the railgun again…Lydia?! What are you doing out there in the open?!"

"I have a plan!" Lydia aimed for the rail gun with the assisted scope. ZEKE was aiming the deadly weapon right at Snake!

"A plan to die?!" Kaz shouted.

"I don't think so!" Lydia fired off the rocket right as the electrically-charged beam was about to fire. At the missile's impact, the rail-gun exploded and plummeted off of ZEKE with a loud crash.

"The Rail Gun is no longer in commission! Way to go! Ten seconds till launch!"

"Your welcome!" Lydia shouted. As she began to make her way back to the blast wall, something hot tore at her neck and sent her barreling forward.

"Sub-C!" Raven called out, only a few meters away. "I'll get you!" Lydia's right hand raised to the right side of her neck to feel gushing blood and torn flesh.

"Oh God." There were bullets whirring all around her from ZEKE. Lifting her head up slightly, Lydia saw Raven about to bolt out from cover. "No!" Lydia shouted. "Incoming fire! Stay back!"

"Lydia?!" Kaz echoed in her ears.

"Sub-C down!" Raven called over the comms. At the announcement, Lydia could hear Mother Base's self-defense rockets fire and impact onto ZEKE. Paz's scream erupted in the air, it was nearly music to Lydia's ears. Lydia rolled on her back and saw Raven approach fast. He slid to the ground and looked right at Lydia's face. "Oh boy, that ain't good."

"Nice bed-side manner, doc. Is Paz down?"

"Yeah, she's down." Raven pushed down on Lydia's right hand. "Keep applying pressure to that, alright?"

"Alright." Lydia inhaled. "That bitch deserved it."

"Med bay, med bay. Code red. Sub-C is down. I repeat, Sub-C is down. Bring stretcher to R&D base platform ASAP." Raven called in. "We're gonna get you fixed up."

"ZEKE is out of my control. This is where it ends." Paz announced from ZEKE. "Listen to me, Big Boss…as long as your army is needed, the world will never know true peace." Lydia could hear the small explosions from ZEKE as it began to malfunction. "The peace you will know will be fleeting - illusory. They will use you, disgrace you, and then, finally, discard you like they would a cancer to society. This is the path you have chosen!"

"Oh my god just shut the fuck up." Lydia closed her eyes. There was one final explosion and then silence to follow.

"ZEKE blew…looks like Paz fell overboard." Raven confirmed. "Here comes the Commander just in time to see your awesome battle-wound."

"Oh god." Lydia pressed down harder on her wound just to hide it more from Kaz. Raven chuckled.

"I don't think that's gonna help hide it more. The stretcher's almost here." Raven softly laughed through a smug grin.

"Lydia!" Kaz approached her and knelt to the ground. His eyes were searching her body through his glasses. "You are so stupid, look at you, there's blood everywhere!"

"Heh." Was all Lydia could muster out before closing her eyes.

"Lydia?!" Kaz shook her by the shoulders, paying no mind to her neck injury. "You still with me?!"

"Yep." She grunted out through her teeth. "Just shot in the neck, that's all."

"You still keeping that pressure, Matthews?" Raven asked. "I've got the stretcher."

"Mhmm."

"You saved Snake, Lydia. Thank you." Kaz squeezed her left hand before she was lifted onto the stretcher. "Take care of her. Lydia, I'll tell Snake you're alright."

"Kay." Lydia cracked open her eyes and smiled. The last thing she heard was Kaz shout for Snake before she was rolled away to the medical platform.


	46. Chapter 46

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise!**

 **Author's Note: Here is the next chapter :3 I hope you enjoy! One step closer to Ground Zeroes! The feels train is gonna derail here in the next few chapters, watch out!**

 **Guest K:** Raven's still the real MVP :D And thanks! I can't believe it's been over a year already! #oldaf

 **R.E.W. 4:** Good to see another review from you! Lydia's story fused with MGSV is gonna be crazy, I promise you that! ;)

 **Guest:** Kept you waiting, huh? At least I'm not missing an arm that keeps me from typing, haha! Thank you very much, I can't believe it's been over a year since I started!

 ****MATURE CONTENT WARNING: Strong sexual content.**

* * *

 **"What does it matter to ya,**

 **When you got a job to do.**

 **You gotta do it well,**

 **You gotta give the other fellow hell.**

 **When you were young and your heart was an open book,**

 **You used to say life and let live.**

 **But if this ever-changing world in which we're living,**

 **Makes you give in and cry...**

 **Say live and let die."**

 **-Paul McCartney**

* * *

 **November 30, 1974: 17:30**

The stitches in Lydia's nape made her want to itch and tear at the healing flesh. The wound was not as deep as she had initially thought, but it was still bothersome. She sat upon the western edge of the Command Platform to watch the sunset. With everything that had happened, it seemed like there were men on base mourning the loss of MSF's angel of peace. As the sun began to descend further upon the horizon, Lydia sighed and closed her eyes. The cool breeze from the ocean chilled her skin. Despite the loss of a so-called 'comrade' and the reconstruction of ZEKE, things around Mother Base were almost too peaceful.

"The sunsets are so pretty here…don't you think?" The voice of Kaz warmed Lydia's senses and took her out of her trance. She couldn't help but open her eyes and carefully turn her torso to take a look at the man.

"Shouldn't you be doing something, Kaz?" Lydia sighed in response.

"Yeah, I mean…I've got MSF business to think about and all, but sometimes…" Kaz found his way to Lydia's right side, taking the seat next to her. He dangled his legs off the edge leaning his torso forward to look at her face. "…it's nice to just sit and watch the sunset, you know? Just how you're doing right now." The goofy grin he wore on his face made her blush and look away from him.

"Come on Kaz, Raven just let me go and I'm recovering…this is my time for some peace and quiet."

"Well, I thought I heard you calling." He winked through his sunglasses. Lydia just rolled her eyes as his body formed into a relaxing position. "Anyway. . ." He trailed off. "You…you wanna go somewhere with me?" He was nervous. Lydia turned her head to the right to see him brush his long blonde hair back with his left hand.

"What, you mean like on a date? You? Date? That's funny."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"

"That last time you wanted to go on a 'date' with me you had some…what was the term? 'soap play'?" She thought back to the two-timing moment…which kinda broke her little heart.

"Oh come on, you're still not over that?" He wined. "I told you it was a misunderstanding."

"What are you doing, Kaz?" She turned her head back to the horizon.

"I told you I would come to you when I'm ready…" Her attention turned to Kaz again. Was he really trying this time? "Come to the coast with me." He ordered. "I'll have Morpho take us. It'll be just the two of us."

Lydia sighed. "Alright, Miller. You win." Kaz ecstatically jumped up from his sitting position and pulled out his iDroid, calling Morpho.

"Come on, he'll be here any minute." Lydia stood up and followed Kaz to the helipad. Keeping an eye out for the helicopter, her eyes turned to Kaz who was staring at her and smiling.

"What's that look for?" She blushed.

"I just want to make it up to you, that's all." He shrugged. Lydia inhaled through her nose and frowned in embarrassment. She thought back to when she had told Kaz she loved him and the way he just laughed off her confession and didn't really take it seriously. The whirring of the helicopter blades approached as the giant metal object landed in front of them. Kaz, who boarded the helicopter first extended his right hand for her to take, which she did. He pulled her onto the helicopter and let go once she was inside. She took a seat in front of him…he sure was making things awkward staring at her the whole ride to the coast, which took about thirty minutes at top speed.

They didn't even say anything to each other until they landed. "Thanks for the lift, Morpho. We'll call you when we want to be picked up!" He saluted Morpho to fly away, not a moment later he took off back toward Mother-base. "And then there were two." Kaz walked toward the ocean, letting the water sneak it's way over his boots. The coast was beautiful at this time of day. There was a small, wooden pier off to the left; they were surrounded by foliage that only added to the relaxed mood. The sunset caused the deep blue water to sparkle the more the sun rested on the horizon. Lydia followed Kaz, nervous, and planted her feet to the right of him.

"You sure do know how to pamper a girl, huh?"

"Awh, cut it out with the compliments. You're making me blush!" He joked, bringing his index finger to his cheek. Lydia kept her eyes on the horizon, but she felt Kaz's eyes on her. "You know, Lydia…" She turned her head, with his right hand he took off his sunglasses, folding the bars and placing them over his ascot. He squinted a little as the remaining sunlight hit his eyes. She blushed at the sight of his bright blue eyes approaching her. "You're as beautiful as this sunset." He extended his right arm and placed his soft hand on her cheek. Lydia's face grew hot and her eyes nervous shifted away from the man. "Your eyes are as _blue_ and beautiful as the ocean."

"Kaz…my eyes are green."

"Shhhhhh, I know. Don't ruin the moment." Lydia laughed lightheartedly.

"I have to admit. When you told me your feelings…I…I didn't know how to react. After I broke your little heart I…after that…I started to see you in a different way. You weren't just my friend anymore. You started to be _more_ than that. Everything that you did for me, from when we first met to _this_ moment started to make sense. You've felt that way for a very long time…I was just too _blind_ to realize it sooner. I wanted your attention more than Cécile, than Swan…than anyone. I started to find the most random ways to talk to you, as annoyed as you were." He guided his hand down Lydia's neck and down her arm, taking a hold of her left hand. "The two years we've spent together, we've gotten to know everything about each other…past and present. What our favorite foods are, our favorite places to go, our parents, relationships…everything. If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't be alive right now. Both of our lives would've stopped in Colombia. Hell, we would've been blown to smithereens if you didn't take a hold of my hand." He brought up Lydia's hand to his lips. "Because of this, we're both here right now." He pressed his lips softly to her skin, making her ears hot. In the distance, she heard a twig snap beyond the heavy foliage.

"What was that?" She quickly turned her head, the motion was interrupted by Kaz's hand moving her head back to look at him.

"Don't you DARE look over there." He nervously ordered. "I want you to keep your eyes on me…don't pay attention to anything else. Do you trust me?"

"I don't know about that." She smiled, rolling her eyes playfully.

"Come on, stop busting my balls." He smiled back as something from the distance caught her attention. A piano? Wait…what's going on? She raised her eyebrow at Kaz who held out his arms. "You wanna dance?" Kaz took a hold of her hand once more and pulled her closer. "Cuz I'm not giving you a choice." He grinned and laced his fingers with her's bringing his free hand to her waist.

"Is that Elton John?" She let out a burst of laughter as she heard Elton John's classic voice play out of some speaker system beyond the heavily dented trees. "Did you set me up, Kazuhira Miller?" She questioned as they slowly swayed to the music.

"Too late to save myself from falling!" He sang along, extremely off pitch which instantly made them both laugh. "Pretty smooth, huh?" His tone and eyes suddenly got softer, more intimate. "The sun went down on me…but to my luck it came up again. Giving me another chance to be with you. I love you, Lydia." She smoothly removed her hand from his and wrapped both of them around his neck, lightly pulling herself toward him. "What are yo-" What came next was the blissfulness of her pressing her lips to Kaz's. He grunted in shock and pulled herself away, blush rising to her cheeks.

"Dammit, you beat me." Kaz smiled and placed both of his hands on her waist, pulling her to him again. "I love you, Lydia." She met him half way for another kiss. Their lips moved fluidly and sweetly together. He was gentle and god did he know how to lay it on her. He knew exactly what she wanted, nothing too long; nothing too short. When he parted, Lydia licked her lips then bit her bottom one. Her eyes opened to see Kaz giving her that classic goofy grin. "Don't give me that look."

He brought up his right hand to her cheek and traced her bottom lip with his thumb, making her melt into another kiss as he cradled the back of her neck in his hand. In the distance Lydia heard cheering, clapping, and whistles; which made her smile against him. Kaz parted from her and wore a light smile on his face. "I wish you could see your face." He lightly laughed, bringing her in for a tight hug which she instantly returned. While Lydia's left cheek rested on his shoulder, her face was turned to see some MSF soldiers trying to hide themselves behind some bushes.

"Just the two of us, huh?" She laughed, parting from his hug.

"What? I needed some help." He shrugged. "So, life or death question Ms. Matthews." He stated, keeping his blue, almond shaped eyes on her. "Will you be mine?"

"Yes. Yes Kaz." Her heart squealed at her own answer. "I will."

"Good, because I'm surviving one hell of a headache for you." Kaz reached up his hands and removed his aviators from his ascot. He unfolded them and returned them over his eyes.

* * *

 **December 2, 1974: 05:00**

Lydia opened her eyes to find herself staring into the familiar blue eyes of Kazuhira. "Good morning." He was propped up on one arm, watching her sleep. "Have I ever mentioned you look cute when you sleep?" Lydia rolled her eyes.

"Only a few times, you creep." When she attempted to sit up, Kaz bolted up and caged her beneath his arms. "Kaz?"

"Did I say you could leave?" He dipped his head down, lips ghosting over her neck. Lydia let out a sigh, moving her arms around his back. She traced her fingers along his spine while Kaz worked his way to her face. Before arriving at her lips, Kaz moved his head back to look her in the eyes. "I love you." He whispered, almost inaudible.

" _Do_ you now?" Lydia smiled, lightly gliding her nails on his back. Kaz leaned his head down, his face stopping just shy from hers.

"You want me to show you?" His legs crawled over her right and positioned himself between her legs. He dipped his head down further catching her lips with his own. Lydia moaned against his lips, causing him to lick her bottom lip for entry. Lydia parted her lips, allowing Kaz's tongue to massage her own. Lydia's hands glided to Kaz's hair, brushing his thick blonde hair between her fingers. Kaz parted from her only for a moment to lick his lips hungrily before attacking her neck.

Lydia's eyes nearly rolled to the back of her sockets as Kaz nibbled against her soft skin. Pure euphoria. She could feel her core heat up with ecstasy as Kaz's right hand worked it's way to her left thigh. His fingers were getting anxious as they slowly massaged their way to her folds. Kaz removed his head from her neck, looking at her right in the eyes as his ring and index finger parted her, leaving her wide open. Kaz lowered his middle finger, instantly dipping it into her core then slowly sliding it up toward her clitoris. Lydia moaned, not taking her eyes away from Kaz. He had loved watching her facial expressions during sex. It turned him on to no degree.

His finger repeated the pattern against her clit until it started to swell with tenderness. It was then when Kaz repositioned his hand to snap her sensitive area between two fingers, making her yelp in surprise. "You are so wet, Lydia." He hadn't looked away from her eyes. "I love how crazy you get for me." Her breath was hitching as Kaz dragged his fingers down into her. Lydia moaned loud at the penetration, biting her bottom lip. He pressed his thumb up against her as he fondled her slowly. As his fingers would exit her folds, his thumb would roll down her clit then slide back up upon reentry. This wasn't something he did before; there was no doubt that she enjoyed it by the amount of deep breaths and moans escaping her.

"Kaz." She called out to him softly. Her hips twitched as she was almost too sensitive to take any more stimulation from him.

"I know, I know." He removed his fingers from inside her and brought them to her mouth. He slipped his index and middle fingers slowly into her mouth, then let out a moan when she began to wrap her tongue around them, making sure to clean him off. "Oh yeah. That's right, Lydia." He started to slide his fingers out until Lydia latched onto his wrist. She opened her eyes; looking at him seductively while she sucked on his fingers. "Oh Lydia, don't you dare look at me like that." He grinned at the oral simulation. Kaz repositioned himself to where he was resting on his knees. He wrapped his other hand firmly around his hardening appendage as she sucked and licked away at his fingers. He stroked himself up and down, working up enough pre-cum to give him a slick base to work with. "Ahhhh, that's it." Kaz kept his piercing blue eyes on her, making her feel more venerable by the minute. "How about the real thing?" Kaz removed his hand from her mouth, wrapping his fingers in her hair.

"I could do the real thing." Lydia spoke seductively as she repositioned herself beneath him to give her better access to his cock. Lydia started off with a deep-throat, moving her lips all the way to his base. To her desire, he was caught off guard and let out a loud groan. Lydia could feel an unfortunate gag coming, so she decided to move herself up toward the head. She circled her tongue around the head of his cock, slowly moving her way down. She wrapped her lips tight around his appendage, earning a small amount of pre-cum in return. It was nice she could really make him enjoy himself. She brought her lips back up to the top and began a steady pumping rhythm, keeping her lips locked onto him. She flicked her tongue around his head every time she would reach the top; each time she was rewarded with the sticky substance.

"Lyd-ahhhh." Kaz's voice rang in her ears as she began massaging his balls with her right hand. He let out a loud moan as she could feel him pulsing in her mouth. "Lydia I'm cumming." His scrotum contracted in the palm of her hands, followed by the release of his warm, thick liquid. By the time he pulled himself out, Lydia's mouth was filled with his cum. Matter of fact, it wasn't too bad to swallow. The sticky substance slid down her throat, earning another pleasing moan from Kaz as he watched her complete the act. "What do you do to me, Lydia?"

Kaz pushed her back into the bed then hoisted both her knees above his shoulders. "Kaz?!"

"There's no way I'm going to let you get out of this empty handed." Lydia wanted to let out a laugh, but it was changed into a moan as Kaz buried his face between her legs.

"Ah!" His tongue found its way to the center of her clitoris, familiarizing himself with the territory. Lydia's eyes traveled to him. Kaz's glance was still on her, he wanted to see the pleasure she went through. He wanted to know what he did to her. Lydia's eyes rolled back when his tongue grazed against her sweet-spot to the left of her clit. The nerve pulsed when he made contact. The jolt in her body told him he was doing something right. Kaz suctioned his mouth around her core, rapidly flicking his tongue all around. This feeling was only heightened when he penetrated her walls with his fingers. "Kaz!" The multiple massages made her want to buckle down and faint from the pleasure. He scissored his fingers within her, grazing her insides while his tongue was working her clit. She moved her hands along her body, her left stopping at her right breast and her right hand tangled in Kaz's hair. She pinched her nipple between her fingers then went to squeezing her tender breast in reaction to Kaz's rhythmic motions.

His fingers started to pump in and out of her while his tongue motions became more rough. He was lightly tickling the nub of her clitoris as he quickened the pace with his fingers. Her creamy liquid warming and slicking her up with every moment. At the production of her flowing juices, Kaz sped up, putting more pressure on her clit. Lydia's right hand grabbed a handful of Kaz's hair. There was nothing more surreal than being crippled by this man. She could feel herself build up; she could _feel_ the tingling sensation in her core as she was getting ready to climax. "Kaz don't stop!" She removed her hands and took a fist-full of sheets. He took her clitoris in her mouth and began to suck on her hard. Lydia let out a long, loud moan. Her hips were bucking against him to let up, but it was no use. He was determined. She could feel the warm sensation travel to her core. "Kaz! Kaz I'm cumming!"

Kaz removed his head, letting the cold air hit her soaking clitoris. "Then come on baby!" He ordered, returning his attention to her clit.

"Oh god!" Lydia's climax flowed in sweet release. Kaz removed his fingers then inserted his tongue into her core to take their place. He was riding out her orgasm, making it last as long as possible. Lydia's breath became more steady, causing Kaz to gently slow and come to a stop. Kaz hoisted Lydia off of his shoulders, the gently placed her legs down. He straightened his back and wiped his mouth with his forearm. Her eyes followed his every motion. He crawled back on top of her and soon enveloped her mouth in a sweet kiss. They parted from each other with a smile, sharing an equal look of satisfaction in their eyes.

"I love you, Kazuhira Miller."

"Good. 'Cause I love _you_ Lydia Matthews." Kaz pushed himself up and swung his legs off the side of the bed. "I think it's time for a shower. As much as I would like to, I don't want to wear your cum under my shirt the whole day." He winked.

"Yeah, I get ya. You can get it started. I'll be there in a sec." Lydia laid flat, staring up at the ceiling. Kaz let out a laugh.

"What? Did I tickle your fancy too hard?"

"I just need to catch my breath." Lydia smiled, slapping Kaz's butt as he stood up from the bed.

"See you in a few." He laughed as he rubbed his right butt-check with his hand. Lydia smiled to herself as her gaze caught the ceiling again. The cold air felt great on her sweaty body.

She had it too good. Best man on base…it's amazing that he could still surprise her even after a few months of sex. Kaz knew his shit when it came to his sweet love-making. Lydia pushed her elbows back and hoisted herself to sit up. She gently swung her legs off the bed and stood with wobbly legs. "Oh gosh." She sat back down with a small laugh escaping her diaphragm.

"The water's gonna get cold, Lydia. You better hurry!" Kaz shouted from the restroom.

"Uhhhh, coming!" She pushed herself up off the bed and stumbled into the bathroom. Kaz opened the glass door to the shower, inviting her in. She couldn't help but size him up. God, he was so _sexy_. Water was dripping all down his body, his blonde hair was wet and pushed back from getting into his face. Water moved all along his muscle contours…suddenly Lydia felt blush rise to her ears.

"See something you like?" Kaz raised an eyebrow and held a smug grin on his face. Lydia covered her face as she stepped into the shower with him. "Lydia, don't be like that." Kaz's hand wrapped around her wrists and brought them to her sides.

"I don't know…" Lydia trailed off smashing her forehead into his chest. "I'm so lucky."

" _You're_ the lucky one?" Kaz laughed, bringing her in for a hug under the water. "I think you got that backwards." Lydia adjusted her head and rested her cheek on his shoulder, enjoying the moment just as much as the warmness of being in his arms.

* * *

 **December 21, 1974: 15:30**

Lydia sat patiently behind her desk in the main intelligence office. Snake had send Kaz to travel to Uzbekistan to strike a deal with the nuclear power. Since ZEKE had been recovered from the ocean, Snake's first priority was getting back into business, Uzbekistan being the first thing on his checklist. In the time between, Huey and the other R&D team members had mass-produced the iDroid device Raven had tested. It was one hell of a contraption. Radio, map, information, everything anyone ever needed on a mission was stored into that baby.

Beside her, she heard Orca's breath hitch. She rotated in her chair and looked at him with curiosity. He was listening to something. His eyes were shifting back and forth like he was trying to comprehend what was happening on the other side of his ear-buds. About six minutes had passed before he shakily took the ear-buds out of his ears then looked at Lydia. "S-Sub-C…you need to listen to this." He took the cassette tape out of the port and handed the recording to her.

Lydia outstretched her hand and grabbed a hold of the tape, on it there was dried blood. "By the look on your face and the blood caked on the tape, I can assume it's not good?"

"Y-yeah. You know that US base in Cuba you told me to keep an eyes on? You know, where a few of our guys are? Well, it looks like someone was detained and the perp sent this as a warning…"

"So that means, whoever was captured told them who we were." Lydia scratched her head and inserted the tape into her own player. She rewinded the recording and took a deep breath before inserting the buds into her ears and playing it.

On the other side, she could hear a bucket of water being poured onto the prisoner as an interrogation or punishment method. It was raining, Lydia could hear the soft rain land again metal structures. Then, she heard someone. It wasn't a familiar voice, but deep. By the way his voice was becoming more coherent, he was walking toward to POW. The first few things he said were jumbled, almost inaudible. The prisoner was painfully gasping for air as the other party stopped walking in close proximity to the audio recorder. "You've done your part." The audio was clear now. His voice was smooth and menacing; every word that flowed out of his mouth was perfect in every sense of the word. Tone. Pronunciation. Message. "You told us plenty. You've known the pain of ages and even now you think, as any person would, that this can't be happening. Is it education? Morals? Faith? Just the imprint of a lifetime of stories face-to-face with oblivion, which is where you are, and you still think that help is coming? The world you were born into is made to save you, isn't that right?" His voice was the most cunning and fluid she has heard since Volgen. The man behind the tape weaved his words one after the other as he continued to speak with the MSF soldier. "Of course it is. Oh, everyone knows that. Until your last breath, you know it. Without the slightest chance or reason left to them, humans are capable of hope. I'm no different…but for one thing, when my time came calling I didn't die. My family died, my country died, but they didn't take me with them. All Hell took from me was this skin. This outer peel that marked me human.

"My village had an oilseed field and a fine factory. Every day my friends and I would see our parents at work in that factory. That's all I had. All the work I knew. Then one day, aircraft came droning in from some far-off sky. The factory was bombed. Some spies had told them we were making weapons. The building burned. We tried to flee outside. The crowd blocked the exit. The crowd of people…hot…so hot." His voice stayed smooth but now with a hitch of anger as his past was recollected. "I tried to push through their legs and get ahead but a boot in my stomach put me on the ground. The smoke of them burning filled me up. I heard my name called, but not for long.

"At the infirmary they carried me to, a nurse in the corridor saw me and remarked as if it happened every day 'they should let the poor thing die'. Those are the only words of my mother tongue I remember. It was the language of my village until foreign troops invaded then the last identity I had left…the words I spoke were pulled from me. My skin would never feel anything again. This face would be burned again in torture at freight hands. But I…I still rive in that burning factory doused in scalding rapeseed oil. That's all I have to feel. That pain. All I have to remind me that I exist here." The man paused and let out a deep chuckle. Lydia's began to feel nervous the longer the pause was.

It wasn't long before he started up again. "Those spies reported well. We made weapons alright. As cartloads of rifles came in from the battlefields we fixed them up and sent them back out so our country would win…or rather…so that little world we knew could continue. I came to realize I mustn't die; I'm their last hope. All those who perished and left me here…I have to accomplish something. If I don't, their will will be swept out of this world." Whatever was over the soldier's head was removed in one swoop. The audio sounded clearer, the POW's breath was more at-ease. Every word from the man was concise and annunciated like he was making a speech to a large crowd. His words flowed smoothly that anyone could understand what he was saying.

"So, do you see me now? Tell me…what do you see? Hmm? You have eyes…what do your eyes see?" The interrogator let out another chuckle. "That's right…you see a skull face. You see me. This skull is who I am. My mark, my proof of humanity. I have no country, no language, I have no face but I haven't lost my skull. So I told myself, the pain and effort that keep me alive will never know relief, never bear fruit, never be repaid. I know that but I told myself to focus on some hope, a non-existent hope, to guide me through this burning world. A hope, call it a dream, a melancholic delusion, as the pressures within me stretch me to bursting and I force myself not to cry out. Though the words I thought were carved into me are gone and all I knew is dead.

"I know how you feel. I've felt that. So show me that I'm not the only one that, you too, can return to this world for revenge. Do you see me? Don't die." He started pushing on something, it sounded like he was pushing on the soldier that was chained up. "Don't die." He repeated again. "Awh…" He sounded disappointed at the soldier took his final breath. The recording came to an end. Lydia sighed at what she had just heard.

Lydia removed the ear buds and looked to Orca. "When did you get this?"

"Just this morning. The guy we assigned to take out Glaz and Palitz a couple weeks back was captured not long after he was attempting to evac." Orca responded. "What does this mean?"

"Obviously a threat of some kind." Lydia took the tape out of the player. "Orca, one by one, work on getting our guys out of there. Our recon mission in that base has been compromised. If that man over the tape knew where to send this to then he knows there are other men stationed there."

"Yes ma'am."

"By now we should have all the data we need. Any other soldiers in the area are to stay a safe-distance from the compound. Keep an eye on who goes in and comes out only. We have our maps?"

"Yes, all maps have been updated as well our outer perimeters."

"Good, work on getting our men out of there." Lydia ordered.

"Yes ma'am. I'm going to request for evac. right now." Orca stood up and opened up his iDroid on his way out of the large room.

Not too long after, Lydia received a chime in from her iDroid. It was Kaz. She pressed a button on the side of the iDroid to answer. "Kaz, please tell me something good."

"They went for my proposal, we're now in the nuclear business."

"Great news." She sighed with relief and leaned back in her chair.

"Even better news is that they are going to ship us our first supply in the next couple weeks…all under the radar."

"What a relief." Lydia smiled. "I love good news."

"What, you just get some bad?"

"I'll tell you when you make it back." Lydia sighed. "It's not good, but I'm making some moves to we're back on top."

"Is it something Boss needs to know about?"

"No, not for now. I have it taken care of." Lydia sat up straight. "Just…be safe on your way back."

"You got it." Kaz ended the call.

Lydia let out an extended sigh. "This shit's stressful. I need to go fuckin' eat something."


	47. Chapter 47

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise**

 **Author's Note: Welcome back everyone! :) Here is the next chapter; I hope you enjoy! Just a heads up that there are going to be some pretty big time-skips just to get things moving along. The biggest one, you can see in this chapter (December to February). This is the last big time skip for a while, so no need to worry about it being a recurring thing!**

 **Guest K** : I'm happy you enjoyed it! :) I can't wait for Skullface's next appearance...as awful as that sounds lmao.

 **Guest:** Why thank you! ;) I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter! I hope you enjoy this one just as much!

* * *

 **"For all of the times you told me you need me,**

 **Needing me now is something I could use.**

 **Midnight blue.**

 **Wouldn't you give your hand to a friend?**

 **Maybe it's not the end."**

 **-Melissa Manchester**

* * *

 **December 29, 1974: 19:00**

Lydia, Kaz and Snake sat around Snake's desk in the Command tower. The day before, Chico had found some some tapes that had been hidden in an air vent Paz's old room. He was with Lydia and Amanda when the tapes were located. With no hesitation, Lydia took them into custody and listened to each one with Kaz as her second pair of ears. Paz was a spy for Cipher this whole time, this confirmed it. The contents of the tapes were spread across multiple days she was on mother base, the fight between Kaz and Boss, the soccer game, _Love Deterrence_ , and few other events…it was all commented upon.

"I listened to Paz's tapes…" Snake leaned back into his chair.

"Yeah…" Kaz sighed. "Why do you think she'd leave 'em behind? And that diary?"

Snake sighed. "Whatever it was, her commitment was wavering - that much was clear."

"So she was leaving clues? To help us?" Kaz crossed his arms.

"No way to know for sure. And the ocean's not giving her back." Snake's eye shifted down to his desk.

"I guess we can keep these for future evidence if need-be." Lydia mentioned. "We should keep these away from Chico, he was a little unstable when we had initially found them."

"Good idea." Kaz placed his hand on Lydia's shoulder. "Snake, we'll keep them here in your office with the rest of your tapes. If you need them, they'll be here for your reference."

* * *

 **February 14, 1975: 07:00**

Lydia woke from her slumber to find an empty spot next to her. "Kaz?" She called out while she slowly pried herself up from the comfort of the mattress. "Guess he's not here." She mumbled to herself. Lydia swung her legs over the side of the bed and dressed herself in the same clothes that were littered onto the floor. While she was putting on her boots, she began to feel dizzy. "Ugh, did I get up too fast?" A sick feeling in her stomach began to rumble the more she moved. "Keep yourself together, Lydia. Jeez." As she was tying the laces on her boots, there were three loud consecutive knocks on the metal door. "Commander Miller!"

"Uhh…" Lydia looked around…she didn't know why…it was just in her reflexes. "Commander Miller isn't here?" She spoke loud enough for the male soldier to hear.

"Oh! Sub-C?"

"Umm yes?"

"I guess you'll do! Can you to come out to the command deck at your earliest convenience?"

"Ok." Lydia tied bother her shoes in knots and stood up. "I'll be there in a sec."

"Yes ma'am!" Lydia listened into the soldier's footsteps growing further away. She let out a long sigh and returned to throwing herself together. The only things she couldn't find was a hair-band!

"Damn. I've been meaning to throw some in Kaz's room." Lydia looked all over the place. "Whatever." She waltzed into the bathroom and braided her long, blonde hair away from her face. She took a few strands of her hair at the end and was able to tie it off with no issue! Efficiency is what she was best at when it came to her hair! Lydia couldn't help but smile as she looked at herself in the mirror. She felt beautiful. Even with all the scars on her body, there was someone who wanted her just the way she was. Kaz made her feel…happy. The _true_ definition of happy.

Her thoughts were interrupted when her iDroid was bleeping from the other side of the room. She waltzed out of the bathroom and pressed the receiving button. "This is Lydia."

"Lydia it's Snake. I need you out on the platform, it's an emergency." Before she could ask questions, the transmission was cut. _Something's off…I should go._ Lydia tucked the contraption into one of her pant pockets and walked out of Kaz's quarters. Once out, she walked down the long hall and out onto the deck.

"Matthews! Quick!" A fellow comrade waved her down. "This way!" He frantically waved to her and bolted out of sight.

"Ok…" She looked around for anything suspicious…but there was nothing to note. Lydia gulped and followed the individual around the building until a song could faintly be heard over the intercom. The familiarity of a piano rang gently through her ears the more the song played. "Is that Elton John?" She questioned herself when the old hit 'Your Song' began to play.

The scene was almost nostalgic but a certain blonde-haired, blue-eyed guy was missing from the picture. It didn't take long after that for Lydia to catch on to Kaz's shenanigans. The timing and notion screamed his name for Pete's sake! Lydia had walked to the back of the platform to see Kaz standing close to the edge. "Kaz?" _How did I know?_ Lydia jogged to his location. As she approached, he turned around at the pattering of her feet.

"Lydia. I've been waiting for you." He classically smiled.

"You have, huh?" She urged on, moving closer to him. She folded her hands behind her back when she was close. "I couldn't tell."

Kaz lightly laughed. "Come closer." He nodded his head up.

"Oh…so Boss called me out here and said it was an emergency." Lydia raised an eyebrow the closer she got to Kaz. "Do you know what he was talking about? I should probably find h-"

"Lydia." Kaz interrupted, holding his finger up to silence her. "It was me. I just felt so lonely out here…I uhh…wanted your company."

"You could've woke me up with you, silly." Lydia jabbed him in the ribs as politely as she could.

"You looked so cute, I just didn't want to." That was when his eyes shifted to something going on behind her. It was only for a moment…but he was definitely up to no good.

"Kaz? What are you looking at?" Attempting to turn around, Kaz latched onto her shoulders as tight as he could without hurting her.

"Lydia, don't you turn around. Keep your eyes on me." Lydia blinked a few times…yeah this was way too nostalgic.

"Ok…?" Lydia wanted to laugh but decided not to. Kaz let go of her shoulders and slid off his glasses. He squinted, letting his eyes adjust to the bright Caribbean sky. He placed them in his breast pocket then turned his shocking blue eyes to her own. "What's up?"

"How long has it been since I met you?"

"I don't know…three years now?"

"Heh…three years." Kaz deviated his gaze, a hint of a smile forming on his face. "It's a shame that I didn't realize I loved you sooner."

"No need to think that." Lydia waved her hands. "And stop apologizing for it."

"I realized something else." Kaz abruptly took a hold of her left hand. "When I woke up…you were just so beautiful. A sight for my undeserving eyes. You…Lydia…are someone I can't live without." Lydia blushed at the confession. "You've been a part of my life for so long that I can't imagine where I could _possibly_ be without you."

"I could think of a few." Lydia joked, rolling her eyes.

"Don't tell me." Kaz squeezed her hand a little harder. "Lydia…the thing is…I never want to give you up. I want you in my life forever." Kaz pulled her toward him and into a soft kiss. Lydia smiled against his lips then returned the favor. Kaz pulled away from her and took a step back to create some space. "I love you…more than anyone or anything. You see…this idea has been running around in my head for a while…and I really want to pitch it to you."

"Well…go ahead?" Lydia urged him on.

"Lydia…I…I love you…you know that, right?"

"Yes, Kaz. I know." Lydia wanted to buckle down and laugh at his nervousness.

"Well…Lydia…it's time to make my dream a reality." He held onto her left hand tight and brought it to his lips. "Lydia, I want you to spend the rest of your days with me." His blue eyes searched hers. He was more serious than normal…

"Kaz?"

"Lydia…" There it was. His right knee slid back into a kneel. With his left hand, he pulled a plain gold ring from his breast pocket. The shiny metal glistened in the sunlight when her eyes caught it. "I love you with all of my being. I never thought I would settle down and then I laid my eyes on you. You…of _all_ people brought me a happiness I'd never felt before. I want to stay with you forever, I want to live the rest of my life being loved by you and only you."

The waterworks were coming…tears were damming up in her ducts as she was trying her best not to let them go. "Kaz…"

"Be my wife, Lydia Matthews."

No words could describe her love for that man. He was the embodiment of everything she had ever wanted. Lydia had let her guard down around him…and he was accepting with open arms. She could dream about marrying Kaz and possibly starting a family…but now it's becoming a reality. They were both ready to settle down with each other. A tear fell from Lydia's eye which caused an onslaught of more to follow. It was time to give him an answer before he got the wrong idea from her tears. "Of course, Kaz!"

"Phew! Really?!"

"Yes!" She brought her right hand to her eyes, rubbing some of the tears away. Kaz stood up and slipped the ring on her left ring-finger.

"Come 'ere." His right hand snaked it's way to the crevice of her neck and pulled her forward. His left arm wrapped around her wast; then minimized the distance between them. Kazuhira closed his beautiful eyes as he softly planted his lips on Lydia's. Lydia shut her watering eyes and kissed him back. From behind her, she heard something catch a fuse then shoot off! Surprised, Lydia broke the kiss and looked up to the sky where a fire-work had just exploded.

"WHOOOOOO! GO COMMANDER MILLER!"

"YOU GO COMMANDER!"

"I'M GOING TO CRY!"

"TO THE MILLERS!"

An abundance of people shouted and cheered from behind her. "Heh." Kaz shrugged, looking down at Lydia after parting.

"Oh _Kaz_." Lydia buried her forehead in the crevice of his neck. She didn't want to turn around and see who was there…it was probably the whole MSF staff, but she honestly didn't care in that moment. All that mattered was her and Kaz.

"Now…how 'bout some breakfast celebration for my bride-to-be?" She couldn't help but let loose a wide smile.

"Breakfast sounds great." She spoke softly, still enjoying the moment.

"Mess Hall! Get some breakfast going! Make it special!" A wave of soldiers sounded off and scurried on their way. Lydia blushed profusely at the sound of all the individuals that could be standing behind them.

"Hngh, after months of hearing him conspire, it's about time." Snake's voice slithered it's way into her ear-drum. Lydia gently pushed herself off of Kaz and looked to Snake who held out his hand for Kaz to shake. "Congratulations."

"Thanks, Boss." Kaz placed his shades back over the bridge of his nose then proceeded to shake Snake's hand. When Snake's hand left Kaz's it moved to Lydia's shoulder, followed by a nod of approval.

"Thanks, Boss." Lydia mimicked her partner. The massive amount of soldiers that had gathered soon dissipated at the public call of breakfast.

"Oh, happy Valentine's Day by the way." Kazuhira planted his lips on her cheek, causing her to instantly blush. Crap! Was it really the fourteenth already?!

"Crap Kaz, I totally forgot!"

"Well it's a good thing you said 'yes' otherwise I would've been a _very_ lonely man." He winked and placed his hand on the small of her back. He urged her to move on toward the Mess Hall. Lydia smiled brightly out of Kaz's view once her eyes caught the glisten of the ring on her left hand.

When they had finished their morning meal, the two of them decided to take a stroll around the central command tower. "So…are we going to have a ceremony?" Lydia couldn't help but ask.

"To be honest, I did think about it." Kaz began. "I don't think a ceremony is going to happen. How did some couples do it in America? A court-room, right?"

"Yep." Lydia nodded. "I would think that's the second-most traditional way of getting married." She nudged him in the arm.

"We're two simple people, so what do you think? That and we get to save some money, too."

"Ha, you and your expenses. I'm fine with that." Lydia smiled. "Wow." She extended her left arm and looked at the band. "Wait…" Her arm dropped back to her side. "Do you have one?"

"What, a ring?" Kaz grinned. He dug his right hand into his right breast-pocket and pulled out a gold band. "I plan ahead." Kaz winked. He placed it on his left ring finger and smiled. "You know, I never thought I would get married."

"Me either." Lydia agreed with a laugh. "It's good to be with you, Kaz."

"Same to you, Lydia _Miller_."

* * *

 **February 22, 1975: 02:00**

Lydia was up late, her eyes were bloodshot from staring at the reports that made their way to her desk. "Sub-C, I got some docs in from Camp Omega that I think you should look at. They're from Amanda." Amanda had left base about a week ago with a hand-full of Sandinistas to take care of something in Cuba. Strange that she would call in, in the middle of her operation.

"Camp Omega? That's the camp in Cuba, right?"

"Yeah…on top of that cassette tape that came in a while back, more and more interesting things are coming our way." Orca planted to reports on her desk. On it was a report by an admiral stationed at the base. "Paz is still alive." Orca frowned.

"What?!" Lydia nearly fell out of her chair. "Are you joking?!"

"Read the reports, her name appears." Orca motioned. As Lydia scanned through the multitude of reports, it turns out Paz was found by Belizean fisherman who found her drifting in the Caribbean. She was taken to the camp for interrogation purposes. With that… _Skull Face_ …still there, he might have a connection to Paz's arrival. Lydia scratched her head at the theory.

"What a shit-show." Lydia scratched her head. "Snake isn't even back from his mission yet. Try your best not to tell anyone. _Especially_ Chico. I'll go tell Kaz later today."

"Yes ma'am." Orca saluted.

As the hours passed, Lydia gathered up the reports from Amanda and made her way to the command center to give Kaz the news. On her way, she heard Huey from around the building, he was talking with someone in a hushed tone. From the sounds of it, Huey was about to turn the corner and run right into her. Lydia jumped backwards and flushed her back against the entry-way of the command tower.

"And why would I leave? ZEKE is finished, but I feel like I have plenty left to offer here." It was Strangelove, her accent beamed through Lydia's ears.

"Like I said, I think it's best for you off of base. You don't know what could happen. Besides, there have to be plenty of other jobs out there for you. You're a genius."

"Huey, you flatter me but I like it here in MSF." Strangelove gasped.

"Please." Huey pleaded, sounded worried. "Leave soon, do it for me. I promise I'll find you."

"H-Huey?" Lydia peeked her head around the corner, he was holding onto her hand. Strangelove didn't sound like herself. "Promise you'll-?"

"Now's not the time to talk about it. I'll have someone fly you to the coast."

"Fine. If Snake asks where I am, I'm blaming you."

"That's alright with me." Huey nodded.

 _Promise he'll find her? Not sure what could happen?_ Lydia closed her eyes in deep thought. _What is he up to?_ The conversation ceased shortly after that. She waited until the sound of Huey's electric chair was further away before examining her surroundings. He was back off to the R&D platforms while Strangelove was headed toward the living quarters. In any case, she had some more important news to deliver. Snake had left out on a mission and wasn't due to return until February twenty-eighth. She called Kaz's line over her iDroid. "Kaz? You there?"

"I hear you." He responded.

"I have some important news. Are you in the tower?"

"In my usual place."

"On my way." Lydia ended the call and proceeded to Kaz's office. Once inside, he was leaned back in his chair with his feet propped up on his desk. His hands were folded behind his head like he was waiting for her for hours.

"Ah, Lydia. I've been expecting you. Step into my office." He said in an exaggerated seductive tone.

"Yessir." She winked at him. She approached one of two chairs that were placed on the opposite side of his desk and sat down. "Hey, Orca got news from Amanda in today."

"Oh really? How's she doing? She's in Cuba, right?" He planted his feet back on the ground.

"Good for the most part but she had some news to give." Lydia sighed and placed the documents on the desk's surface. Kaz's head tilted toward the reports.

"You wanna give me a summary?" He grinned.

"Well, long story short…Paz is alive." Kaz instantly stood from his chair and hit the palms of his hands on the desk.

"WHAT?!"

"That's what I said."

"How do you know her claims are real? I mean, not that Amanda's a liar…"

"Two of our guys around the prison facility also notated they had seen her being dragged into a building there. That is in her report as well. Paz's being held at this…Camp Omega…for interrogation."

"And she knows where we are…" Kaz brushed his right hand through his hair. "And about the nuke…our staff…resources…"

"Exactly." Lydia confirmed. "What do you want to do?"

"Tell Snake, of course. Not that I want to…we need to bring her back to base. I couldn't care less about her well-being to be honest after listening to those tapes of her's."

"Same…but who else is going to save her?"

"You've got a point. She could rot there and just give everything away in the mean time."

"You heard her over those tapes near the end…she was confusing her loyalties…it sounded like she never wanted to betray Snake in the end." Lydia threw a counter.

"This is hardly the time to sympathize with her. The face that she was dishonest and planned to betray from the beginning is enough. She's a liability that holds secret information about MSF, there's no way we could keep her there." Kaz sighed. "Let's tell boss when he returns. There's no telling how this would affect his mission."

"Agreed." Lydia nodded.

"Now…was there another reason why you came in here?" Kaz took off his glasses and set them on the table.

"Not really." Lydia shrugged.

"Are you sure?" He began to unbutton his uniform.

Lydia watched him take off his dark-green over-shirt to reveal his short-sleeved white tee. "Oh…uh…" Lydia caught her breath. "I think so?"

"Good, so you can stay here with me." Kaz took off his yellow ascot next. "Keep your _husband_ company."

* * *

 **February 28, 1975: 04:00**

Lydia woke that morning to a ring-tone on her iDroid. Next to her, Kaz stirred and groaned as the soft noise began to wake him up. Lydia reached for the device and squinted to make out the receiving button. She accepted the call and spoke groggily. "This is Lydia."

"Sub-C, I need you to come to the Intel room, stat." It was Orca, he sounded a little concerned.

" _Again_? Give me a minute, I'll be right there." Lydia sighed and turned off the comms. "Ugh." She gently placed the iDroid back down on the table next to her side of the bed and sat up.

"Where do you think you're going?" Kaz asked, not turning around. His voice was garbled like he had smoked two packs of cigarettes, it was almost too hilarious how tired he was.

Lydia let out a small laugh, leaning over and kissing him on the cheek. "I'll be back." He muttered something in Japanese in his half-asleep daze. Lydia stood up from the bed and dressed herself in warm clothes before making her way to the Intel platform. When she walked in the main room, Orca seemed like he was at a loss. He was holding some type of transmission paper in front of him. "Orca, what's going on? It looks like you've seen a ghost. Next to finding out Paz is alive, what else could it be?"

"Sure does feel like it. You need to see this." He extended his arm, holding the paper out for Lydia to take. She grabbed a hold and held it up so she could make out the official script.

"REQUEST FOR INSPECTION:

It has come to our attention that your organization recently purchased nuclear fuel from Uzbekistan authorities. The Board of Governors from the International Atomic Energy Agency requests that Private Force: Militaires Sans Frontières agree to a nuclear inspection set for March 16, 1975. We request the agency inspect your facilities for the safe, secure and peaceful use of nuclear technologies.

A mandatory follow-up is required.

Thank you for your cooperation.

-Board of Governors"

Lydia's eye twitched. "When did we get this?"

"It's dated from yesterday, but I got the transmission early this morning." Lydia sighed at Orca's news. She wanted to crumble the paper into pieces and cast it into the ocean.

"I've got to tell the commander. Orca, do _not_ let anyone know about this." Lydia ordered.

"Yes ma'am." Lydia pulled out her iDroid and called Kaz. She started to descend the flights of stairs until she was out on the platform.

"This is Miller."

"Kaz, I need you to get up and meet me in your office, ASAP."

"Urgent?"

"You better believe it." Lydia shut off the transmission. _Better hold off on telling Snake, I don't want him to come back early from his mission._ Lydia jogged to the Command Tower and climbed up the stairs until she was on the fifth floor. Down the hall, she couldn't help but see Huey sitting outside of Kaz's office door. "Huey? What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I just called Miller, I needed to talk to him about something."

"Good, me too. We can talk to him together." Lydia took out her key-card and scanned the door open. She allowed Huey in first and waited for Kaz's arrival. Minutes passed until he finally walked through the door.

"What it is?" He started. "Can _he_ overhear this?" He nodded toward Huey, who looked like he took slight offense.

"We'll all know about it sooner or later." Lydia held out her hand and passed Kaz the letter as he sat down behind his desk. It didn't take long for him to read over it. "It's obvious what they're after."

"Who's after what?" Huey questioned nonchalantly, arousing suspicion from Lydia.

"It's the IAEA. They're wanting to do an inspection of Mother Base. They apparently tracked our recent purchase with Uzbekistan. Or someone leaked the information."

" _Inspect_?" Huey sounded half-shocked.

"They're after ZEKE's nuclear warhead." Kaz ran his right hand through his blonde hair. "I'm betting this is Cipher's way of getting back at us for Paz."

"So they're using the UN to create a loophole to get in? I thought the IAEA could only do inspections in _countries_ that are party to the Non-Proliferation Treaty?" Lydia crossed her arms. She looked at Huey who was intently listening to the conversation.

"Exactly." Kaz let the paper fall to his desk. "We're not a country and we haven't signed a safeguards agreement with the IAEA over peaceful nuclear use. We're not obligated to report any nuclear material we have, nor information about any nuclear facilities. So I don't know why they're sending us this crap. Let's tell them where to stick it."

"Now just hold on a minute." Huey interrupted, holding up his hands innocently.

"Huey, they have no authority to inspect us. They're stepping over their boundaries." Kaz reiterated.

"Well just hear me out." Huey butted in again. "How about we focus on hiding ZEKE _and_ the nuke? If they inspect us and find nothing, then they'll go _knowing_ MSF doesn't have that kind of weaponry."

"What, so it's better to let them in?" Lydia sassed.

"Yes! That way the world will know we're just a conventional PF with strong capabilities. Then after that, we can recover ZEKE from hiding."

"That still doesn't give them the authority to inspect us. Cipher _has_ to be behind this." Kaz sighed and looked up at Lydia through his sunglasses. "We have to let Snake know. We obviously can't make a decision without him."

"Tell him to go through with it." Huey almost seemed like he was begging. "Give him my argument."

"We'll see." Lydia raised an eyebrow. "What did you need, by the way?" Lydia asked Huey.

"What?"

"You were here before I was…said you needed to talk to Kaz about something?"

"Uhhh, it's nothing. Never mind." He looked down to the ground. "I should really get back to work. Please tell Snake."

"Snake'll be back later today, we'll come to a conclusion then." Kaz adjourned.

"Thank you." Huey looked at both Lydia and Kaz before rolling out of the room. Lydia kept an eye on the door until it closed. _He was almost too aware of the situation. Why the hell was he outside before Kaz was even here? Why was he pushing so hard for the inspection? And him talking with Strangelove, too...is this a coincidence? He's up to something…but what?_

"Earth to Lydia." Kaz threw a crumpled piece of paper at Lydia to catch her attention. She sighed and looked back to his desk. "Where are you?" He chuckled.

"Here. In your office." Lydia spoke.

"Nothing to worry about. I have a feeling Snake is going to think it's a load of bullshit."

"Yeah, I guess it's just the waiting game now." Lydia crossed her arms. Suddenly, the twinge in her stomach was back, almost as strong as it was the other day.

"What's wrong with your face?" Kaz asked, standing up from his chair.

"My _face_?" Lydia over-exaggerated.

"No, I didn't mean it that way." Kaz walked up to her and leaned his butt on the front of his desk. He took his right hand and glided it on her arm. "You looked like you were in pain just then?"

"Oh yeah. I think I'm just hungry, that's all."

"Well let's go get something to eat." Lydia agreed and they were both off to the mess hall. Eggs, bacon, and potatoes…the trifecta of godly breakfast foods all together on one plate. After eating, Lydia felt a _lot_ better.

"I've gotta sign off on a few deals." Kaz declared after he finished his breakfast. "It's that time of the month where I gotta buy more food, utilities…you know…all the good stuff."

"Awh, already? It's like you just did that!" Lydia lightheartedly joked.

"It feels like I just did. I'm going to wrap my mind around this IAEA crap and how to break the news to Snake about Paz while I'm at it." Kaz was the first to stand up, mimicked by Lydia. "Anyway, I'll see you later today. Have fun with whatever you do over in Intel."

"Ha, it's always a blast over there." Lydia punched him in the arm. "Anyway, love ya. See you soon." She pecked him on the lips before they parted ways.


	48. Chapter 48

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise!**

 **Author's Note: Welcome back! :) Here's the next chapter; I hope you enjoy!**

 **Guest K:** I'm getting in as many happy moments as I can before the ice cream turns to shit lmao :') GZ is just around the corner and it's gonna be a one-way trip on the feels train to Depressing City from there.

 **Guest:** I agree 100%! Listening to the tapes in GZ and hearing Huey's interrogations throughout V was just cringe-worthy. Would you believe me if I said my mission play throughs on the two in MGSV that lead up to torture/interrogation scenes with Huey are now at 0 GMP reward because he deserved every bit of it?

* * *

 **"Too late, my time has come.**

 **Sends shivers down my spine, body's aching all the time.**

 **Goodbye, everybody, I've got to go.**

 **Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth.**

 **Mama, ooh, (any way the wind blows)**

 **I don't want to die.**

 **I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all."**

 **-Queen**

* * *

 **February 28, 1975: 09:00**

Lydia was sitting at her desk reading some reconnaissance reports sent in by a couple agents stationed in Angola. Nothing to report thus far. Nothing to report _except_ for the fact that she was tired. "Ugh." Lydia's eyes fell on the clock that still read a time too early for her. _Man, what's wrong with me? I'm usually not this distracted. Is it something to do with my health? It could be from all the stress about Paz and this IAEA shit. I better see Raven just in case._ Lydia frowned and stood up from her chair and walked out the main Intel gathering room. The walk to the med bay was a long, boring one. It was mighty chilly outside; it was only made worse by the over-cast.

Lydia crossed her arms when she entered the facility. The warmness of the building soothed her as her bones began to thaw. The hall was empty, not a lot of people were getting sick on Mother Base this time of the year, which was pretty good! It was about time for the medical staff to get a break!

Lydia walked to Raven's office and knocked on the door. "Hey, Raven? You in there?"

"Come in." He responded. Lydia walked in, greeting him with a small wave with her hand. "Sub-C, what a surprise." He tapped a bundle of papers on his desk before setting them down into a neat pile. "What can I do for you?"

"I'm sure you hear this a lot, but I'm feeling…weird."

"Weird? That's a medical term I don't use, you're gonna have to be a bit more specific."

"How do I explain this? I've been more tired than usual, I've had random spurts of wanting to throw up…but I hate throwing up…it's gross."

"Hmmm…" Raven placed his hand to his chin and sized her up. "When was your last menstrual cycle?"

"Uhhhh…" Lydia took a minute to think. "January twenty-fifth—ish?"

"Hmmm…" Raven repeated his gesture. He looked back on his desk to scan for a vacant room. "Why don't you go to room 107. I'll be there in just a sec to check you out."

"Sounds good." She bowed out of his office and proceeded into the appropriate room where she waited on the medical bed. Only a few minutes passed until Raven walked in with a few test-tubes for blood samples. "Have any ideas?" She asked.

"I have a few. But I want to make sure before I throw out any assumptions." He tied off her right arm and then began to draw her blood after the necessary steps. After he was done, he wrapped her arm with medical tape and a gauze set in place of the puncture wound. "I'm going to go run these. I'll be right back."

"Alrighty." Lydia sat there in silence. Minutes had passed, maybe an hour. She heard something heavy rolling down the hall. Lydia raised an eyebrow as she kept her eyes on the door. Not but another minute later, Raven scanned open the door and wheeled in some type of machine. He maneuvered it by her bed and stepped away from it. "Ummm, what is that?"

"What is this? This is going to solidify my answer that your blood just told me."

"Alright, so tell me whats up?"

"I ran your blood and I found _very_ high levels of human chorionic gonadotropin in your bloodstream."

"Ok, what does that tell me?" She raised her eyebrow again, dumbfounded.

"hCG is the pregnancy hormone. You're pregnant, Sub-C." He stood there in silence, watching the reaction on her face. _Was_ there a reaction on her face? Lydia just stared at him, nothing came to mind. "And _this_ is an ultrasound that will tell me how far along you are." He tapped his left hand against the ultrasound machine. She looked from him to the bulky machine and then back to Raven. _Pregnant? Pregnant. I'm gonna have a…baby? I'm gonna have a baby._ Lydia never had anyone to tell her about motherly things. Yeah, she had school and all but she never had a mother figure and Snake wasn't really the one to talk to about _that_. Even conversing to the other women on Mother Base was awkward. "You in there?" Raven nervously chuckled.

"Uhhhh, yeah." She quietly responded. "W-what should I do? Errr, what do I need to do?" She asked, nervously.

"Sub-C, you're timidness is freaking me out." Raven laughed. "Lay back on the bed and pull up your shirt just under your breasts. I need access to your abdomen." He walked over to the sink in the room to prepare as Lydia followed his instructions. She propped her back against the elevated bed and waited for him to finish. "Am I calling Commander Miller?"

" _No!_ No you are not." Lydia nervously cracked a smile. She had to make it through one stretch at a time. Getting through this scan was her first priority.

"If you say so." Raven put on some medical gloves and retrieved some gel sealed in a plastic bottle out of a compartment that was located across the room in a cooler. He squeezed some of the gel onto her abdomen, it was cold, almost making her want to jump out of the bed and run away. _Is this really happening?_ Raven powered on the ultrasound and readied the grocery-scanner-type device. "So this is going to give me a good look into the body of your uterus so I can judge how far along you are. The projection is going to appear on this screen." Raven pointed to the screen at the top of the machine. Lydia looked at her stomach and then up to the screen. "Are you ready?"

"Uhhhh, y-yeah." Lydia's never had the time to research into all these medical devices. She knew what an ultrasound was but had never seen one in action…and now she's getting one for her own body. Raven brought the scanner-remote-type-thing down to her belly. Automatically, the screen projected a black, white, and grey surface. He smeared the jelly substance around while he was searching for…whatever he was looking for.

"Ah." Lydia's eyes were glued on the screen. There was some type of black-hole that he stopped on. "There it is."

"There it is? Where?" Lydia's heart beat faster. Raven's free hand pressed up against the screen. "Right there." He pointed to a small bean-shaped figure that looked out of place.

"Seriously?" Lydia felt a smile come to her face.

"Yeah." Raven smiled, laughing. "It looks like you're a little over a month looking at the size of it. I would say you're probably due sometime in October."

"Wow." Lydia couldn't stop smiling, she stared at the monitor for a while. That small little thing…was her baby. A little Miller. "Today just turned around."

"And why's what?"

"The IAEA sent us a letter wanting to inspect Mother Base."

"Well, maybe they found out your baby's _actually_ a nuclear bomb."

"Ha!" Lydia cackled. "Well would you look at that." Lydia couldn't take her eyes off the monitor! "What do I do now?"

"Well, I need to do blood tests on you frequently just to test your hCG levels. I also need to bring you back in for more ultrasounds maybe once a month."

"Ummmm alright."

"You need to eat healthy, make sure your getting plenty of nutrients. Cut down on coffee, no smoking, no drinking. Water is your best friend." Raven was spitting out everything he knew. He took the remote off her belly and began to disinfect it. He then removed the jelly-substance from her stomach. "Get plenty of sleep. It never hurts to take a nap when your tired. A healthy mom is a healthy baby."

"Y-yeah."

"And if Miller wants to have sex, tell him to wait about ten more weeks." Lydia blushed and pulled down her shirt. "I'm no gynecologist but you should be clear after 14 weeks. There's a thick mucus plug that seals your cervix that helps guard babies from infection. That and the amniotic sac and the uterus muscles will also keep you baby safe."

"So much information, but I'll remember."

"Congratulations are in order." Raven finished cleaning up. "You can take all the time you need in this room before heading out. My lips are sealed about that _and_ the IAEA. Don't worry."

"I don't need to worry when it comes to you Raven, you're the best."

"Heh, thanks. If you need anything, come by my office or shoot me a call."

Lydia held a thumbs up as she swung her legs off the side of the bed. She sat there for a good minute before moving on. _What is Kaz gonna say?_ Lydia smiled to herself. _No doubt he would be happy, but he's probably gonna get suspicious if I keep telling him no when he wants to stick it in._ Lydia narrowed her eyes. _My birthday is coming up soon…that's when I'll tell him._ Lydia smiled to herself and placed her right hand on her stomach. _March 20. That's the day._

* * *

 **February 28, 1975: 17:00**

Lydia sat patiently at her desk as she reviewed reports sent from her left-over intel agents at Camp Omega. Nothing too hype since the confirmation that Paz was alive and somewhat well. "Lydia." Lydia looked up from the pile of paper and connected her vision to Kaz who had just walked into the office area.

"Kaz, what's up?"

"Snake's back. I told him about the inspection. You wanna guess what he said?"

"To shove it up their ass?"

"You got that right." Kaz crossed his arms over his chest. "He smelled the bullshit. Told me to send an official letter of refusal that says we're a PF and we've done nothing to attract this suspicion."

"Great, let's send that to them ASAP." Lydia smiled. "I haven't heard anything else on Paz, by the way. Wherever she is in that base, they're keeping her there for an extended period of time."

"At least our contact that's keeping an eye on the place is reliable." Kaz replied. "I told Snake about Paz, too. He was just as surprised as I was. He thinks the timing between her and the inspection is just too perfect. Anyway, I'm going to draft that letter and tell them to fuck off. I'll see you later."

"Sounds good."

* * *

 **March 1, 1975: 12:00**

Snake, Lydia, Kaz, and Huey were all gathered in Snake's office in the Control Tower for an emergency meeting. The lot of them were taken off guard as they caught wind of an _acceptance_ letter was sent out shortly after Kaz had sent his official reply to the IAEA. Huey was rambling about their _future_ inspection and the progress on getting ZEKE prepared. It seemed Huey had taken things into his own hands.

"We finished ZEKE's waterproofing reinforcement yesterday." Huey noted, bringing his nose up from the clipboard he held in his hands. "The day after tomorrow we'll be done installing the main depth control tank, the compressed air tank, and the attitude control propeller pod."

"Huey." Kaz sighed to cut him off.

"I-if the underwater test goes well, next week we'll try the 300-foot seabed depth."

"Drop the act Huey." Kaz snatched the clipboard out of Huey's hands and passed it off to Lydia. "How did we end up agreeing to the nuclear inspection?"

"…" Huey paused as he watched Lydia grab a hold of the clip-board. "Because after you sent that letter I told them, 'After careful reconsideration we agree to your request'. A-a-and frankly, we should be inspected. This is our chance. If they come and go without discovering the nuke, we can tell the world we're clean. Of course it's risky, and we'll have to make sure everything's perfect. But it'll be worth it."

"Huey you backed us into a corner." Lydia put the clipboard down on Snake's desk.

"Can they do an inspection without going through the Board of Governors?" Snake questioned with agitation in his voice.

"I contacted the IAEA's admin branch after sending the letter," Kaz began. "and they said there's no record of us being brought up at any of the Board's meetings."

"Right. For them to inspect, they need to go through an internal investigation. MSF's name would have been brought up at some point." Lydia added. "This is a load of bullshit."

"I'd say…probably a preliminary inspection to determine whether we should be referred to the Board." Huey answered. "So it's bound to be a small inspection team, and they won't be here that long." Huey held up his hands. "Don't worry, leave everything to me." Kaz and Lydia shared an annoyed look before diverting their attention back to Huey.

"Has the media gotten wind of this?" Snake crossed his arms.

Huey perked up before he answered. "Yeah. Two major Western networks want to do stories on us. I'd planned on saying yes."

"What?!" Kaz leaned in toward Huey. "You want to broadcast this place to the world?!"

"That's why I agreed to the inspection."

"Of _course_ it is." Lydia scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"This is a golden opportunity. We can use the media to prove to the world we don't have a nuke. Besides, even if we said no, it would just be delaying the inevitable."

Snake groaned and ran his right hand through his hair. "Kaz, Lydia, our hands are tied now. Start getting the place ready." Lydia frowned at Snake's order.

"Thanks, Boss." Huey smiled.

"Don't get the wrong idea." Snake spat. "You've set it up so that any more 'changes of heart' will arouse suspicion, that's all."

"ZEKE stays…" Kaz inhaled with rage. "but we'll have to move all other AFVs to shore. Any potential troublemakers can go with them for some mandatory R&R. We'll send the department leads to watch out for them. Sound good, Boss?"

"Just do it." Snake waved his hand. "Huey, leave us." Snake ordered.

"You got it, Boss. Thank you." Huey rolled out of the office. When the door closed, Snake scratched his head.

"What do we tell the men?" Snake folded his arms across his chest.

"There's no use hiding it now." Lydia spoke. "We'll tell them the truth."

"She's right." Kaz agreed. "The one thing we don't need to worry about is anyone here spilling the beans about ZEKE."

"Good point." Snake leaned into his desk. "What about the Sandinistas? There's still quite a few of them left on base."

Kaz sighed. "I hate to say it, but it won't look good having Soviet Bloc personnel here…The problem is, moving a group that size in a hurry would look even worse."

"At least Amanda's on assignment in Cuba." Snake mentioned. "They'd recognize her. She should stay put for now."

"All civilians, save Huey, will have to return to their countries. We'll get everyone the papers they need."

"Not to mention Dr. Strangelove's departure came at a perfect time. The less ZEKE-related staff here the better." Lydia butted in.

"Wait, she left?" Snake questioned, surprised.

"When did she leave?" Kaz asked, just as shocked.

"She did leave. I'm sorry. You were away on an assignment, I had just forgot to mention it." Lydia confessed. "Huey had told me two days ago that she left the week prior." She lied through her teeth, something inside her felt dirty after that statement was delivered. She looked at Kaz, his eyebrows tilted toward his nose like he was narrowing his eyes under his glasses.

"I see." Snake noted.

"Regardless, ZEKE is complete and there's nothing major in development for any additional AI. I guess there wasn't a reason for her to hang around any longer."

"You have a point." Snake nodded. "I'm surprised Huey let her go that easy."

"You've got that right." Kaz butted in. "His crush on Strangelove was never much of a secret, huh. He followed her everywhere while ZEKE was in development. Boy would she get pissed."

"To break away from the Inspection, I have an idea." Kaz sighed. "Snake, as you know, we got reports that Paz was still alive. Lydia's recently obtained reports that she hasn't moved buildings or has made any movement since her arrival."

"What's your point?" Snake crossed his arms. "You think she's dead?"

"No, not yet." Kaz answered. "Our 'friends' in Cipher suspect Paz could be a double agent. I'm thinking the upcoming inspection of Mother Base has to be tied to this somehow. The timing is just too perfect. My guess is that through the inspection, they're trying to corroborate Paz's leak."

"We're an army without a nation." Snake reiterated MSF's slogan.

"Word of our capabilities gets out, and we'll have the whole world out to shut us down. Having an American private intelligence agency involved's bad news. Cipher's the ones who sent Paz to us in the first place."

"She knows their true nature." Snake spoke deeply.

"Right. Paz is our only link to Cipher. If she's still alive…we need her on our side." Kaz wanted to eat his own words. "If not us, who else is gonna rescue that bitch?"

"When do we do it?"

"The inspection comes first. We'll deal with Paz afterward." Kaz answered.

"Do the men know?"

"A select few in the Intel department are aware. But word has started to spread." Lydia added. "The information came from Cuba through Amanda. One of the base personnel used to belong to El Frente. I have one of our guys watching whoever goes in an out of the base from a safe perimeter."

"I'll tell everyone, 'We don't concern ourselves with the survival of enemy spies'. We need them focused on the inspection. And if we get Paz back here and she isn't…cooperative, there's still plenty of room for her in the ocean." Kaz looked from Lydia to Snake.

"Works for me." Snake agreed. "What about Chico? He had a chance to stop Paz from hijacking ZEKE, and he blew it. He's carried that guilt ever since. The kid really did care about her."

"Chico…it's hard to say how he'll react." Kaz crossed his arms.

"It'd be wise to keep any news about Paz from him. On the contrary, there's no telling word of mouth is going to get to him eventually when the other men are talking about it." Lydia said. "He's still unstable, maybe the best thing would be to send him back to Amanda."

"That's a good idea." Snake agreed. "Have Amanda call him out to Cuba. He shouldn't be here right now."

"Good idea, they haven't seen each other in a while." Kaz held a thumbs-up to Lydia. "A little time with big sis and he'll forget all about you-know-who."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that. Kids that fall in love are pretty head-strong." Lydia said. "Kaz, you can call Amanda. I'll start getting things ready on Intel's side for the inspection. There's no doubt he'll hear about Paz some time today. We'll send him out as soon as Amanda gives us the green light."

* * *

 **March 5, 1975: 08:00**

Lydia emptied the clip of her pistol into the target board of the kill-room. "You can do better than that." All of the bullet-holes were body shots except for one. One of the bullets hit the target's arm. The way Snake's voice rumbled in her ears made her extremely frustrated, something she hadn't experienced before. _I think these pregnancy hormones are making me more pissed off_. Lydia frowned and reloaded the pistol. She cracked her neck side to side then aimed the gun back to a new target that revealed itself. She emptied the magazine of six with consecutive shots to the head and neck.

Lydia placed the gun down on the table and turned to face Snake who instantly bombarded her with an incoming punch to the face. "Ah shit!" Lydia lifted up her left arm to deflect his right straight. Next was the left, her eyes fell on his left fist coming in for a jab to her abdomen. Her right hand immediately apprehended his left wrist just before he was about to connect. "Snake!" She shouted out in a frantic plea. His eye widened the moment her voice echoed in the empty chamber.

"What is it?" He backed up with his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Crap..." Lydia let go of his wrist and scratched her neck. "Just…try and not hit my stomach…ok?" She didn't look him in the eye.

"What do you mean?" Snake asked. "You have to sustain body blows to build your core muscle-strength." He spoke nonchalantly…and a bit confused.

"You just don't get it, do you?" Lydia sighed, wanting to fall over. Not a moment later, the entrance of the Kill Room opened and in walked Kaz.

"Get what?" Lydia nodded her head toward the door for Snake to look behind him. Snake turned his head then turned it back to Lydia who had put her hand on the lower part of her stomach. Snake's eye moved up from her hand then to her face. As Kaz grew closer, Lydia dropped her arm to her side and shrugged. "I get it." Snake nodded.

"Something I should know?" Kaz butted into the conversation.

"Nothing life-changing." Snake covered for her. "Any news on Chico?"

"If you say so." Kaz shrugged. Lydia wanted to wipe all the imaginary sweat that was trailing down her temples. She had truly dodged a bullet there. "Chico was supposed to arrive a couple hours ago, but the ship might be behind schedule. Amanda said she would call me once the ship arrives. She should give a call any minute n-" Like clockwork, Kaz's iDroid sounded off. He looked at the display and smiled. "What did I tell ya?" He winked at Lydia then answered the call.

Snake made eye contact with Lydia the moment Kaz picked up the transmission. His gaze was serious. "We need to talk." He spoke slowly. Lydia couldn't tell Snake's emotions from the look in his eye. Her sights fell on Kaz for only a moment before nodding her head. They both walked to the opposite side of the kill-room from where Kaz was standing.

"Lydia…" Snake started. "How did you find out?"

"Raven. A couple days ago." Lydia responded. "I'm just over a month." Snake's lip twitched, she could tell he wanted to light a cigar.

"There can't be a baby on mother base." Snake simply said without hesitation.

"I know…" Lydia broke her eye contact and looked toward Kaz who appeared to be a little frantic as he spoke with Amanda.

"What? Still no sign of Chico?" Kaz said loud enough for the both of them to hear from across the room.

"What's going on?" Snake hollered.

"Sounds like Chico never made it." Kaz waved for the both of them to walk to him.

"We can talk about this later." Lydia mentioned.

"There's nothing else to talk about. Do what needs to be done." Snake spoke sternly as he walked toward Kaz. Lydia grew petrified. _"Do what needs to be done."_ His voice rang in her ears and shredded her mind. She was frozen in her tracks as the words repeated themselves over and over. Seconds felt like years before Lydia was able to move toward the two men.

"Our resupply package arrived, but Chico wasn't with it…" He then spoke up to talk to Amanda again. "Relax, Amanda. I'm sure he's just…exploring Havana or something. First time in the big city, he could've gotten carried away…"

"Kaz…wait." Snake interrupted. "The boat Chico was on - did it stop anywhere before it got to Havana?"

"Yeah, it had to refuel at Santiago de Cuba…You don't think…"

"Shit." Lydia cursed and tightened her fist as she put two and two together.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Kaz shouted in frustration. "He does this NOW?!" It seemed like Amanda had ended the transmission. By the look on Kaz's face, he wanted to throw his iDroid straight into the ground.

Snake pulled out his iDroid and opened the virtual map of Cuba. He pointed with his right index finger to Santiago, then dragged it to the camp's location. "It's sixty miles from Santiago to the prison camp. Chico used to cross the mountains with the older Sandinistas like it was nothing. He'll make that in three days."

"Still, even if he does find his way there…" Kaz gritted his teeth.

"You know how reckless he can be." Snake narrowed his eye. Lydia sighed and stared at the camp's projections from the holographic map. "He must have heard about Paz...he thinks we've abandoned her. That's why he's doing this."

"I'll have the intel team that's dispatched in Cuba look for him." Lydia pulled out her iDroid. "I have two men stationed around the prison. They'll find him."

"Good. We can't let him be captured." Kaz added. "Alright Lydia, let's get to it."

As hours turned into days...there was no sign of Chico anywhere. Lydia was becoming more on-edge as she waited word from one of her intel agents in the area. Kaz was starting to catch on that something was wrong with her, but wasn't asking any questions. He was preoccupied with finding Chico and getting the base ready for inspection…hell…Lydia was, too. She had the Intel team hide any type of nuclear-related deal paperwork as well as any recycled paperwork about ZEKE, Peace Walker, or any nuclear-based mission report.

 _"Do what needs to be done."_ The words from Snake kept her up day and night. Lydia didn't have the time to worry about Snake's idol suggestion toward her unborn child. Wether she was to leave MSF or stay wasn't a luxury she had the opportunity she had to think about as the days passed.

* * *

 **March 14, 1975: 10:00**

The days had blended together until one fateful radio call was intercepted by the hands of the Intel team. "…There are some cages to the east of the building. It's an old, grassy facility. That's where we are. Help me, Snake…"


	49. Chapter 49

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise.**

 **Author's Note: Howdy, howdy! Here's the next chapter! :)**

 **aleyuma98:** That is a great analogy! See Otacon I don't mind at all. He's everyone's favorite otaku nerd! But Huey...I wish I was the one that you know...pushed him in the pool.

 **Guest K:** Yeah! And there's so much shit going on right now! That's quite the ultimatum to think about and even I felt like a jerk writing it in lmao xD I'm glad you enjoyed that last chapter; here's the next! :)

 **Guest:** So sweet :') Raven will always and forever be the MVP. I'm so happy you enjoyed that last chapter! I loved writing that scene, too! Her baby's the nuke. NBD. lol. Hang onto your butts, GZ is literally around the corner.

* * *

 **"Here's to you Nicola and Bart,**

 **Rest forever here in our hearts.**

 **The last and final moment is yours,**

 **That agony is your triumph."**

 **-Ennio Morricone & Joan Baez**

* * *

 **March 14, 1975: 10:00**

"Sub-C!" An intel agent shouted over from his desk. He instantly took off some headphones and messed with the radio contraption in front of him. "Sub-C, quick!" Lydia stood up from her desk and walked quickly to the soldier's seating position across the room. "It's Chico, I've located a brief signal. He was dialing in for a few moments before he ended the transmission."

"Dammit." Lydia took the headphones and placed them over her ears. "Play it back." The soldier rewound the newly recorded tape and let Lydia listen.

"There are some cages to the east of the building. It's an old, grassy facility. That's where we are. Help me, Snake…" Chico abruptly ended the transmission. It was too calm, there was no fear in his voice. It was clear Chico had been set up to send the distress call.

"Cut that transmission and load it onto a tape, I have to take this to Snake. Have our guys in the area start reconning the prison of any new movement. Track anything and everything coming from that prison camp!"

"Yes ma'am." It took about ten minutes before Lydia was on her way to the Command platform. On the way, she couldn't help but want to throw up. Was it the nerves or was it the baby? In any case, she wanted to spill everything and anything out of her system. As Lydia walked into Snake's office, Kaz was sitting in front of him…good…killing two birds with one stone.

"We found Chico." Lydia announced.

"You joking?" Kaz turned his torso around.

"He dialed into one of our frequencies about half an hour ago. You're gonna want to listen to this." Lydia tossed the tape to Snake, who easily caught it. He inserted the tape into the cassette-player and played it over the speaker so he and Kaz could hear. Kaz shook his head once the message came to an end.

"It's a setup." Kaz crossed his arms.

"That's what I was thinking." Lydia concurred.

"We have no choice." Snake spoke calmly.

"Yeah. If Chico talks, he could blow the nuke cover-up. We can't hold off until the inspection's over."

"When can we be ready?" Snake asked.

"It'll take at least sixteen hours to confirm a flight path and prep a bird." Kaz replied.

"The Intel Unit has already started reconning the area." Lydia mentioned.

"Sounds like I'll have to miss the inspection." Snake sighed, _almost_ sounding disappointed.

"Boss, we'll just have to send someone else to get them out."

"No." Snake abruptly cut off Kaz. "I'll go."

"Yeah. Chico and Paz would only take orders from you anyway. And we can't go taking on those Marines at the base head-on. It's gotta be off-the-radar…and it's gotta be you."

"Hold down the fort, Kaz…Lydia."

"You forget who we are." Lydia grinned. "The inspection'll go smoothly. If they ask questions, we'll say you were held up."

"She wouldn't be lying." Kaz agreed with a shrug. "I'll call Morpho right now to ready for take-off. It might be a wise idea to bring Raven with you just in case if any of them are injured."  
"Good idea." Snake nodded. "I'll call him and have him get prepared. Lydia, find me a drop-off point and a way in and out."

"Got it." Both Lydia and Kaz walked out of Snake's office. They walked side by side silently until they reached the staircase that led down to the ground floor. Kaz wrapped his hand around Lydia's wrist to halt her from going any further.

"Lydia?" He sounded out carefully. By the tone of his voice, something was on his mind. She turned around with nerves at their acme.

"Yeah?" He let go of her wrist and placed his hands in his pant pockets.

"Is there something wrong with you?" He questioned without hesitation.

 _Did he find out?!_ Lydia's skin started to feel hot with how fast her heart was beating at the question. "N-no? Why do you ask?"

"Well, you've been distant from me, you know?" Kaz sighed. "I know we've been dealing with all this shit and, believe me, I'm aware the stress level is high. We're here for each other, remember? If there's anything bothering you, you can talk to me, ok?"

"Kaz…" Lydia frowned. She closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around his torso. She rested her head right under his chin. "There's a lot going on right now and I'm just stressed." Lydia admitted. Kaz sighed in response and hugged her back with a kiss on top of her head. "But…there _is_ something I want to tell you, but it's gonna have to wait until the twentieth."

"What?" Kaz took her by the shoulders and backed her away to look Lydia in the eyes. "Isn't that your birthday? Aren't _you_ the one that's supposed to be getting the surprises?"

"Yeah but I want to switch it around this time. Things will get better after the inspection, I promise. Let's just focus on one thing at a time right now." Kaz leaned in and planted his lips onto Lydia's forehead before backing away again.

"If you say so." Kaz smiled. "I'm going to go to my office and take care of the essentials Snake wants me to do. I take it you're off to Intel?"

"Yeah. I'm going to stop by R&D first and see how ZEKE is coming then I'll send Snake the infiltration draft."

"Good luck." Kaz held up a piece sign with his right hand then walked back to his office adjacent from Snake's. Lydia let out a long exhale and leaned up against the stairwell's wall. _That was a close one._ She pulled herself together and began to make her way to the R &D platform.

There wasn't one Mother Base staff member that wasn't running around like a chicken with a severed head. Crunch time had begun and the count-down wasn't getting any longer. Lydia made her way to the R&D platform and descended into the ZEKE's hangar. She waltzed in the open garage door. ZEKE and the nuke were nowhere in sight. The R&D team was cleaning every inch of the place and peeling off any radiation warning stickers that were littered around the facility.

It was a breath of fresh air to know that she didn't have to worry about ZEKE or the nuke until the inspection was over with. "Sub-C, good to see you!" An older soldier with thinning blonde hair jogged up to her. His name stitching read Seagull. "Were you looking for Dr. Emmerich?"

"I was, you have any idea where he is?"

"I sure do. He went to the bunker-level of the hangar where we used to keep the nuclear waste." Seagull pointed across the facility. "There's an elevator in the back that will lead you right to it. He said he was going to inspect everything himself before giving us the ok."

"Is it safe to be down there?" Lydia raised her eyebrow. "I don't want to poison myself, you know."

"Yeah. We've done the proper disinfecting and sterilization. There's no trace of radiation as it's all sealed away and in the ocean with ZEKE."

"Perfect. Thanks Seagull." Lydia nodded and headed back toward the opposite side of the Hangar. Once she reached the elevator, it was a long way down before the doors opened.

"I'm telling you, everything is good to go." Huey's voice echoed in the chamber. No one was responding back to him…was he on a call? Lydia stepped out of the elevator and looked around. There were so many metro shelvings and empty, thick, metal containers scattered all over the place. There were plenty of places to hide out. Lydia quietly followed the sound of Huey's voice to get a visual on his location. "By the time you get here, no one will suspect a thing…Y-yes, that was done, too. I intercepted the refusal letter before it was sent out to the IAEA. I told Snake that I sent an agreement on their behalf."

Lydia peeked through a densely-stocked shelving to see Huey talking on a wireless satellite phone. _Where the hell did he get that?_ "I told them the most effective areas to place them in each platform…y-yes. E-everything's going according to plan." There was a long pause before Huey started to talk again. "J-just as long as you give me the security and protection I need." Lydia stood up straight and made her way back to the elevator to make it seem she had just walked in.

"Huey?" She hollered out and walked at a brisk pace to his position.

"I-I have to go." She heard him speak quickly before there was a harsh metallic 'thud'. "Ow!" Once Lydia turned the corner to face Huey, he was rubbing the top of his head. There was no phone in sight, he must have discarded it by the sound of that thud. "I guess I didn't see the metro shelving above me." He nervously chuckled. "Lydia, don't scare me like that!"

"Seagull said I'd find you down here." Lydia crossed her arms over her chest. "I came to check on progress, I don't know what I was worried about. Everything looks clean."

"I was just about to finish my inspection on this area, so far so good. Everything is up to IAEA standards." Huey positioned his chair so that he was facing away from Lydia.

She walked to his chair and rested her right hand on his right shoulder. "Everything going _according to plan_?"

"It sure is. By the time we're done, the IAEA will be looking to us as the poster-boys for peace!"

"It's like no one will suspect a thing…" Lydia squeezed his shoulder.

"H-huh?" Huey started shaking beneath her touch.

"Who were you talking to, Huey?" She could feel the sweat starting to drench his shirt.

"W-what do you mean? I wasn't talking to anyone!" Lydia examined his head turn slightly to the left toward an empty metal barrel. She removed her hand from his shoulder and walked to the left side of his chair.

"Oh?" She shrugged. "So if I walk to this barrel…" She waltzed into his vision and pointed to the object Huey had already been looking at. "…there's not going to be a, I don't know, satellite phone at the bottom?" Huey didn't say a word as Lydia stepped closer to the barrel. She stopped adjacent to it and looked inside. There it was. Down at the bottom was the phone Huey was using to call out of Mother Base. "Well would you look at that?" She looked at Huey just briefly before leaning into the barrel and taking out the phone. She held it in the palm of her right hand as a display.

"I-I was calling S-Strangelove!" Huey back-tracked. "Y-yeah! I was checking in to see if she made it to Manhattan!"

"Is _she_ the one that's going to give you security and protection?" Lydia scoffed.

"W-when I go b-back to America, one day. I mean-"

"And what about placing _things_ in the platforms, huh? Intercepting the letter before it was sent?!" Lydia grew louder.

"I-I don't know what y-yo-AH!" Lydia threw the satellite phone into Huey's chest and slammed both of her hands on his arm-rests.

"Shut your god damn mouth!" She shouted. Lydia inhaled deeply and stared menacingly into Huey's eyes. "I heard you, Huey Emmerich." She spoke slowly so his terrified mind would comprehend the amount of shit he was piled in. "Who were you talking to?"

"S-S-Strangelove!" He repeated. He smelled like piss. "It was Strangelove I swea-"

"Are you plotting against MSF?!" Lydia spoke louder.

"N-no!" He frantically responded. "I don't know what you're talking about!"

"You told Strangelove to get off base because you didn't know what would happen!"

"W-what?! No! She left on her own-"

"I overheard _that_ conversation, too!" Lydia grabbed a hold of his collar and forced him toward her. "You can't hide _anything_ from me." She annunciated perfectly with her jaw clenched. Lydia pushed him back into his chair and snatched the satellite phone off of his piss-soaked lap. She straightened her back and stuffed the large satellite phone in one of her pant-leg cargo pockets. She inhaled through her nose and exhaled out her mouth deeply. "Satellite phones can be tracked, Huey. If I find out Strangelove wasn't on the other line, this phone is going to be your anchor to the bottom of the ocean. You hear me?" Huey only whimpered in his chair before Lydia snapped. "Do you hear me?!" She snipped loudly.

"Y-yes!" Lydia walked hastily back toward the elevator, still fuming. With the mission in mind, she didn't bother to be stopped as she made her way back outside the hangar. Once the fresh air hit her, bile had found its way into her mouth. She jogged over to the railing and threw up.

"Sub-C! A bit nervous, are we? Ha ha ha!" Bald Eagle's muscular stature, shiny head, and large mustache appeared in her peripheral vision.

"Ugh. Yeah…nervous…I would say that." She wiped her mouth with her left forearm.

"You look tired, can I offer to carry you?" He flexed his biceps.

"No, no. I'm good." Lydia waved her hands to back off. "I'm just headed to the Intel platform, I'm fine."

"I insist!" He knelt on his right knee and stretched out his arms in a position to hop onto his back.

"Alright, alright." Lydia gave in. She made sure to secure the phone in her pocket before positioning herself in piggy-back mode. Bald Eagle stood up without a struggle and began to carry her the rest of the way to the Intel platform.

"You know, I got my ex-wife pregnant four times, I could see you were from a mile away."

"WHAT!?" Lydia nearly fell off of his back.

"Whenever she got really mad she would throw up…that's what gave it away for me!"

"How could you tell I was mad?!"

"It looked like you wanted to kill someone!" Bad Eagle laughed.

"Well you wouldn't be wrong." Lydia sighed. "Please don't tell anyone."

"You're secret is safe with me! If you need a lift anywhere and see me walking, let me know!"

"I'll keep that in mind." Lydia smiled.

"Hey Bald Eagle, can I have a ride?!" Shouted a random soldier from across the Intel platform.

"Are you a damsel in distress?! No!" He retorted. "I'll let you off, Sub-C."

"Thanks again, you saved me from some extra stress. You should probably get back to work." She shooed him off.

"Yes ma'am!" As Bald Eagle ran off in the opposite direction, Lydia walked into the busy Intelligence building. Before sitting down at her desk, she pulled out the satellite phone and hid it in one of her drawers. Lydia took out her iDroid next and opened the detailed map of Camp Omega. She zoomed out and looked at the topographical area carefully.

Snake would enter the prison facility from the South-West entry-point. No doubt Morpho's flight pattern will drop him off a few miles from the check-in point. Next to a small out-side caged facility, there was a perfect spot for a rendezvous point on the cliff-side. It was out of sight from the camp and with the cover of night-time, it would be a breeze for Morpho to get in and out of there with ease once Snake needs him. Lydia programed the landing zone into the iDroid's cloud database. She then called Morpho, himself, to let him know the job was complete.

"This is Morpho." It almost sounded _too_ normal without any helicopter gadgets sounding off in the background.

"Morpho it's Sub-C." She responded.

"Hey Sub-C. Just getting Raven's supplies in the chopper and we'll be set for take off after we get the flight-plan."

"Sounds good." She responded. "I'm assuming you're going to drop him off a few miles away from the entry-point. I updated the map with a rendezvous point for you. Go ahead and take a look when you have the chance." Lydia ordered.

"Yes ma'am. Just as long as it'll be safe for Chico and Paz to be loaded up, I'll be just fine. Over and out."

"Over and out." Lydia ended the transmission and called Snake, next.

"This is Snake."

"Snake, I set up the rendezvous point on-site at Camp Omega. Take a look at the map at your earliest opportunity. It will give the perfect cover while you load up Chico and Paz. Morpho will fly around that area, out of sight, until you give him the ok to drop in."

"Got it." He replied simply. "I'm still waiting on the flight path." Snake added. "Any word from your team?"

"Not yet, it'll still be a few hours as they examine the weather and gust patterns for the trade winds. We don't want you going down before you even get there. Someone'll notify me when they have it mapped out."

"Ok." Snake simply responded.

The moment they ended the transmission, Lydia grabbed the satellite phone out of her drawer and placed it on top of her desk. She stood up from her chair and walked over to the soldier that looked the least busy. His hair was a light red with some grays that were growing in. He was lean in stature with freckles littered all across every inch of his skin. "Hey." She eyed the name stitched on his uniform. Buzzard. "Buzzard, I'm going to assign you a project."

"Yes, Sub-C?"

She placed the phone on his desk and crossed her arms. "I need you to run a diagnostic on that satellite phone. Can you log any of it's previous transmissions, routing locations, and call-times?"

"It looks home-made...I can sure try." He agreed to help.

"Thank you. Let me know when you are completed."

"Yes ma'am." Lydia walked back to her desk and sighed before sitting down. She took her hair out of her pony tail and let it fall across her back. She ran her fingers through her hair and gripped a hand-full of hair close to the scalp. If Orca didn't go off base to watch over the trouble makers, he would probably have the job done lickety-split.

By March 15 at 02:00, the flight pattern was complete. Given the route with Morpho's top speed, he would be at Camp Omega in just over an hour. They took the day to double-check everything on Mother Base was set for the inspection and would leave closer to 21:00 so Snake could make it to the camp's vantage point for infiltration by foot. With the cover of darkness on his side, there was no chance he would have any issue sneaking in and out.

* * *

 **March 15, 1975: 08:00**

Lydia received a call on her iDroid around 08:00 on the fifteenth. She was about to finish tying up her hair in her bathroom. "Sub-C, this is Buzzard. I have some news for you, not sure if you're going to like it."

"Ok?" She responded and examined herself in the mirror.

"There was a self-frying jammer on the phone you gave me. It's hardware melted this morning."

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Nope. I found the chip inside it. Whoever constructed the phone was prepared to fry it if it fell into the hands of another person." Lydia's bottom lip trembled in frustration.

"Destroy it." Lydia ordered. "Thank you, Buzzard." Lydia ended the transmission and shut her eyes. The rage built up in her stomach and transferred into her arms. She opened her eyes and punched the mirror in front of her with her right fist. "Dammit!" The cracked glass stung at her knuckles.

"Lydia?!" Kaz yelped from behind the closed door. The sound of shattered glass had startled him. Lydia quickly turned and locked the door to the bathroom. Not a moment passed until Kaz was trying to pry the door open. "Lydia?! Open the door! Are you ok?"

"I'm fine." Lydia snapped. "Just give me a minute." She turned on the sink's faucet and placed her bloody hand under the running water. The water stung the wounds and made her hiss involuntarily. She kept her hand under the water and reached over to the door with her left and unlocked it for Kaz.

Instantly, Kaz swung the door open. She examined him through the cracked mirror. His eyes instantly fell on the most damaged part of the mirror. His eyes moved to her hand in the sink. "God Lydia, what the hell?"

"Bad news." Lydia shrugged.

"Really bad news apparently." Kaz sighed. "I'll grab a first-aid kit." Kaz turned around and went to fish for the kit under the bed. "What did you hear?"

"Bad news." She reiterated.

Kaz appeared in the reflection of the mirror again with the first-aid tin in hand. He placed the tin on the counter next to her and opened it. "Turn off the water and pat yourself dry." He handed a large gauze to her.

"Thanks." Lydia did as he ordered. Kaz held out his left hand for her to rest her own hand on. As Kaz dressed her hand, she became emotional. She couldn't stop the tears from streaming down her face.

Kaz's eyes looked up from her hand and into her red eyes. "Lydia, are you sure you don't want to talk about it? We're a team here."

"Ugh, I'm just emotional." Lydia wiped away her tears with her left forearm. "It's nothing you should be concerned about."

"You kidding? You just used the force of a million men to punch that mirror." Kaz finished dressing her cuts. "Are you stressed about the inspection?"

Lydia looked into his blue eyes. Should she tell him about the phone? The thought ran in her mind. Huey could be plotting to put MSF under, but _how_ would he do that? What would Kaz do if he were to find out? It was crunch time as the inspection was just a few hours away. Kaz had enough to worry about. Besides, she now didn't have proof that Huey was in contact with someone else. No matter the trust that Kaz had for her, Huey could simply deny it and ask for evidence of any wrong-doing. Lydia sighed and rested her forehead on Kaz's shoulder. "Yeah. Just the inspection." She lied through her teeth. The lie scorched at her tongue and singed her heart. As the inspection and Snake's rescue mission grew closer, the lie continued to dissolve at her soul at every passing hour.


	50. Chapter 50

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise!**

 **Author's Note: And you thought #49 would be the only chapter today, ha! Think again!**

 ****Mature Content Warning: Violence (Strong), Gore (Strong), Mentions of sexual assault (strong)**

* * *

 **"** **Running around trying to fit in,**

 **Wanting to be loved.**

 **It doesn't take much,**

 **For someone to shut you down.**

 **When you build a shelf,**

 **Build a mummy in your mind.**

 **You can't sit still and you don't like hanging 'round the crowd,**

 **They don't understand.**

 **You drove by as I was sleeping.**

 **You came to see the whole commotion.**

 **And when I woke I started laughing,**

 **The joke's on me for not believing.**

 **We are not your kind of people,**

 **Won't be cast as demons,**

 **Creatures you despise.**

 **We are extraordinary people."**

 **-Garbage**

* * *

 **March 15, 1975: 19:00**

Huey was in the main command room, giving Lydia and Kaz the run-down of how the inspection would go. "It's good to tell the both of you that everything is now 100% prepared for the inspection. We even had the men on guard put away their weapons so the IAEA would get the wrong idea." Huey twirled his thumbs around each other. "They'll arrive at the helipad on the Command Platform. From there, we'll start. I got news they should only be bringing a few professionals to get the job done."

"Once they're past the R&D Platform it'll be smooth sailing from there." Kaz mentioned.

"You got that right." Huey sighed with a smile on his face. Lydia's eye twitched as she stared at him. "Anyway, they should be here by midnight. It'll take a couple hours for them to inspect everything but they'll be done by two or three. I'm going to catch some shut-eye before they get here."

"You do that." Lydia spoke and crossed her arms sounding as nice as she could.

"T-thanks." He stumbled his words and rolled out of the building. Lydia looked to Kaz who had raised an eyebrow at her demeanor.

"Something happen between you two?"

"No." She sighed. "He just seems extra annoying today."

"Extra annoying." Kaz repeated with a light-hearted chuckle. "Maybe you're going to tell me you're having a secret relationship with Huey on the twentieth? Should I be concerned?"

"You're joking, right?" She punched him in the arm.

"Totally joking." He winked behind his glasses. "Now it's just the waiting game until we hear from Snake."

As the hours passed, Lydia, Kaz and the other soldiers in the room patiently prepared themselves. When the clock hit 22:56, there was an inbound transmission over the speaker, it was Raven. "Raven to Mother Base."

"We hear you." Kaz responded.

"We reached the LZ and dropped off Boss. We're en route to our stationary position. He should be there around midnight."

"Thanks for the check-in." Kaz responded. "The Inspection crew should be here in about an hour or so. Huey's all ready to give them the tour."

"Great news." Raven responded monotoned. "We'll check in if anything happens. Over and out." Kaz cut the transmission and held a thumbs up.

"So far so good."

"So far so good." Lydia repeated.

* * *

 **March 16, 1975: 00:00: Huey**

Huey waved down the pitch-black helicopter as it landed on the Command Platform's helipad before him. The door slid open and a few men jumped out in business attire. The six of them were carrying large suit-cases. "Welcome, gentlemen!" Huey greeted. "Right on time!"

"Boss said you marked where to place the charges?"

Huey nodded. "In each platform, I marked an 'x' where the most effective place would be." The leader of the group turned to the men who were filed behind him.

"Split up." He simply ordered. The lot of them split in different directions. He lowered his gaze to Huey. "You're staying with me."

"G-got it." Huey stuttered. "Y-you're flying me out of here, aren't you?"

"You don't think our boss follows through with his promises?" The man scoffed at Huey's question. "You'll get the protection you wanted. We'll get you out just as the fireworks start."

* * *

 **March 16, 1975: 00:00: Lydia**

"Lydia…you're trembling. Everything ok?" Kaz asked Lydia as they continued to wait. Her nerves were starting to stack up and represent themselves in her shaky hands.

"Yeah…just nervous is all." She half-smiled from across the table. "It looks like it's just about show-time." Lydia motioned.

"You're right. I should give Snake a call to check in." Kaz agreed. "Snake? You there?" Kaz chimed in from over the radio.

"I'm in front of the prison camp." Snake's voice wasn't even that strained.

"Excellent Snake. Age hasn't slowed you down one bit." Kaz winked at Lydia from the verbal jab.

"Kept you waiting, huh?" _Waiting_ was an understatement. It had been radio silence since Morpho had dropped him off! Lydia rolled her eyes at Snake's punch-line.

"Snake, open your iDroid and check out the area before you head in." Lydia spoke. "We did some intel from a drone, your map should be updated with the most recent features of the camp." She nodded at Kaz to take it away for the rest of the briefing.

"Chico and Paz are being held in an old, unused part of the compound. Get inside and head north-east. Remember, this is an infiltration mission…" While Kaz was sending out the briefing, Lydia's eyes moved to the clock on the wall behind Kaz. _12:00am. Be careful, Snake._ Lydia and the rest of the intel team carefully watched Snake's position on the digital reading in the center of the room.

He was moving as swift and careful as ever making his way to the north-east side of the camp. Watching his marker move was getting a tad more nerve-wrecking than usual…there was a lot at stake. Lydia's eyes moved to her hands on the edge of the table; they were still shaking. She stood up straight then was overcome with the need to throw up.

Lydia swallowed hard to keep it in then walked to Kaz who shared a concerned look in his eyes. "Are you sure you're ok?" His hand grazed her right arm.

"Yeah, I just need to run to the bathroom. Be one minute." Lydia waltzed out into the empty hall then jogged her way to the nearest restroom where she could throw-up in peace. She splashed cold water on her face then moved her hands to her belly. "Stop acting up for momma, ok? You're going to ruin the surprise." She joked, patting her stomach a few times before walking out.

Upon entering back into the room, Snake had just called in. "I've got Chico." _Perfect timing._ Lydia thought to herself, patting Kaz's shoulder before resuming her position on the other side of the room.

"And Paz?" Her husband urged on.

"Not here." Lydia raised her eyebrow at Snake's answer.

"They must have moved her somewhere else, no doubt." Lydia spoke before Kaz chimed back in over the comms.

"Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure." He was aggravated from the sound of his voice. Something must have happened with Chico for his demeanor to change so suddenly.

"Can Chico walk?" Kaz asked.

"Hold on." There was silence. Lydia kept her eyes on the unmoving marker. "Not gonna happen." Snake finally responded after a painful minute.

"You'll have to carry him out then. Slight change of plans. Haul Chico over to the rendezvous point. We'll get Paz's whereabouts out of him once he's calmed down."

"That damn kid." Lydia cursed under her breath. She touched the virtual screen on the desk, sending out the proper rendezvous location to Snake's iDroid. "Snake, I've marked the rendezvous point. Go ahead and carry Chico there. Watch out on the trail there Snake, it's a pretty steep fall into the ocean."

Within minutes, Snake reached his goal. "Great." Kaz radioed in. "Put Chico down for a minute. How's he doing?"

"Probably dandy now that we've saved his life." Koala put in his two-cents from his seating position.

"I second that." Lydia agreed. Not a moment later, Snake sent in for Morpho to pick up Chico.

"Roger that chopper request." Kaz spoke, signaling to Koala to send a transmission to Morpho. "He's on the way as we speak."

"It's a good idea we decided to send Raven along. I'll let him know he has a patient coming." Lydia pulled out her own iDroid and called Raven. "Raven, do you read me? This is Lydia."

"Loud and clear Sub-C."

"You got a patient coming your way, Chico is in pretty bad shape. Get your gear ready."

"Yes ma'am." Lydia ended the conversation the placed the iDroid back into one of her pockets.

"That fucking kid." Lydia sighed. "At least he's alright."

"No doubt whatever he went through…he's gonna carry that with him for the rest of his life." Lydia frowned at Kaz's statement. _Something I know all too well._ It took just over an hour before the next call was inbound from Morpho.

* * *

 **March 16, 1975: 00:20: Raven**

"Raven, do your read me? This is Lydia." Raven smiled at her voice.

"Loud and clear Sub-C." He responded.

"You got a patient coming your way, Chico is in pretty bad shape. Get your gear ready."

"Yes ma'am." It didn't take long for her to end the transmission. Raven walked to the corner of the room and readied his medical equipment for Chico's arrival. He stood by the door and waited until they reached the rendezvous point. Through the window, Raven spotted Snake with Chico over his shoulders. Raven pressed the 'open' button for the helicopter door and knelt down. "Snake, I've got him." Raven held out his arms.

Snake lifted Chico off his shoulders and handed him to Raven. Raven hooked his arms under Chico's armpits and lifted him inside the chopper. Snake was on the move back to the camp before he had a chance to say anything. Raven set Chico down on the cushioned bench inside the chopper. His eyes instantly fell on his ankles. "Chico…" Raven's eyes moved up to Chico's…they were nearly lifeless and void of all emotion.

His ankles had been bolted with metal to keep him from walking. With something like those hindering his movements, it must have been easy to torture him. Raven placed his hands on Chico's shoulders then lied him down. "I feel like I have to tell you that this doesn't look good. It's going to hurt."

"It's not going to hurt." Chico spoke quietly. Raven looked to him again, silent tears were falling from his eyes. "It's nothing compared to Paz." Raven couldn't say anything in return. He cleaned the wounds and removed the bolts from his feet. The holes were puss-filled, the tissue around was dark. As Raven carefully cleaned the holes in his ankles, Chico didn't cry out one time. He had stuffed the wounds with collagen to allow the wounds to start to heal properly. The last step was bandaging him.

"Chico, sit up." Raven ordered. Chico sat up and swung his legs on the side of the bench. There was a hole in the middle of Chico's chest that looked irritated. The skin around it was purple and red…just calling out for infection. Raven disinfected the wound and patched it up to prevent any further infection.

He took off his gloves and threw them into a small trash-bin on the other opposite side of the bench. "Why?" Chico nearly choked out.

"Why come get you?" Raven responded. Chico's head nodded in return. "We weren't intending on leaving you or Paz behind." Raven responded. "You have a big sister that's awfully worried about you, kid." He knelt in front of him. "If you waited just a little longer, Snake would have gone to get her, regardless." Chico's bottom lip trembled before he bit it to stop. "Your bones are still in-tact on your feet. You can walk, but it's probably going to hurt like hell. So don't stand too much, got it?"

Chico didn't budge. He was just staring at the door waiting for it to open again. An excruciating amount of time passed before Morpho got the signal to head back to the rendezvous point. "Raven, we're headed back. Clear one of the benches!" Morpho called out.

"On it." Raven responded. "Chico, hold onto me." Raven took Chico in his arms and moved him to a built-in chair next to the stretcher. When they were back on the cliff-side, Raven opened the door and helped Snake move in Paz. She was too light. It felt like she would break just by picking her up. Her hair had been shaves off…it didn't even look like her. Raven gently placed her on the bench that Chico was taking up a few moment ago. Snake shut the helicopter door then instantly sat down adjacent to Paz and sighed.

"Paz?" Chico weakly spoke. He got on his knees and shuffled to Paz's side.

"Good job, Snake." Raven nodded at Snake and sat next to him on the bench. A few minutes of flying passed until Chico's voice pierced the silent atmosphere with a drastic plea to grab Snake's attention.

"Snake! Snake!"

Before Snake could call out for Raven, he was already up and making his way closer to Paz. "Shit." Raven muttered under his breath. Across her abdomen was an inflamed access point that was horrifically sewn up. He quickly put on two gloves and pressed lightly on her stomach. He rubbed around and felt something out of the ordinary. Something hard and square. "She's rigged." Raven looked up at Snake.

"Dammit we were set up!" Snake grunted out, furious.

"We gotta get it out." Raven spoke. He stood straight up and went to his supplies. "There's no time for anesthetic. We have to open her now." He grabbed medical scissors and tweezers. Snake was bracing Paz's shoulders and Chico her arms. Carefully, Raven cut and removed the suture. After removing the thick thread, he then grabbed two prongs to open up the wound. _God Paz, why did they do this to you?_ He slowly pried open the incision then turned his head to Chico. "Hold these."

Chico nodded and took a hold of the two metal objects while Raven retrieved a small pair of sharp scissors to cut away at tissue that was keeping him from the bomb. So far so good. Blood was staying in her body…but it was only a matter of time before he had to go in. He removed the prongs from Chico's hands and placed them out of his way. As Raven turned around he looked at Chico. "Chico, apply pressure to her legs. Here we go." He inhaled before quickly acting. His gloved hands entered into Paz's abdomen. He pulled apart the large incision before extending his hands further in. "Hold her down! Chico, keep her gut in!" Raven ordered. She woke up in pain and began to squirm. Her insides were wanting to fall right out the more he searched.

Her yelps and screams were something Raven didn't want to hear any more. He removed his hands from her gut and repositioned himself to go back in. He sat on one of her legs and searched lower and deeper. Her warm blood splashed out of her gut the more she struggled, covering Raven and Chico's face. Every second that passed felt like an eternity for Raven before he finally felt the dense object. He carefully inserted his other hand, gripped around it, and carefully pulled it out. It was a bomb alright, wrapped in dark green plastic. "Boss." Raven handed it to Snake who quickly took it away from him.

Shortly after, Snake opened the large helicopter door and tossed the bomb out into the ocean. Raven closed her skin momentarily before checking her pulse. He sighed in relief at the sound of her vitals. "Breathing's stable. No active bleeding. She's clean, I'm going to close her up." Raven grabbed a thick thread with a fishhook needle. "Chico, hold her steady. It's gotta be a continuous suture." Chico held onto her like he didn't want to let her go.

Raven cleaned up around the would before he moved forward. "Is she dead?" Chico asked once he was about to tie it off.

"No, she passed out from the trauma." Raven responded. While he was stitching her up, Snake got a call from Huey…probably about the inspection. One less thing to worry about.

"Is she going to die?" Chico sobbed.

"Not on my watch, kid." Raven promised. Once Snake ended the transmission with Huey, Raven looked up at him. He had leaned himself on one of the metal bars by the bench and was staring at Paz. He shook his head and spoke. "Something's not right. Check her again."

"Yessir." Raven gently placed his hands back onto her abdomen and pressed down gently. His hand moved to her pelvic area where he felt a second foreign object. "No…" Raven inhaled sharply through his nose. "Boss, hold her down." Snake lunged forward again and placed his hands on top of her shoulders. "Chico, I'm not going to tell you to look away…but I suggest you do." Raven remarked. He gently pulled down Paz's pants. When Raven moved apart her legs, her inner thighs were bruised and bloodied. Raven bit back tears and examined further. She had been raped by how many men and who knows what with. Her womanhood nearly looked like it was torn apart and mangled.

Raven closed his eyes and couldn't help but remember his Sofia's grim fate. Beaten. Battered. Helpless. Paz had it in her to fight back, but how much could she take before she just gave up? _Whoever did this to you is a fucking monster._ Raven grimaced and looked at Paz's peaceful face. "I'm sorry…Paz." He inserted his hand into her. The pain instantly woke her up, but had passed out again shortly after. The bomb didn't take long to find and was about half-way to the body of her uterus. Using caution, Raven pulled out the second bomb. He silently handed it to Snake who tossed it out the chopper without hesitation.

Raven disinfected the area then pulled up her pants. He sat down helplessly as the last words of his fiancé rumbled around in his head. _"No. Roberto, don't watch."_ Snake snapped him out of the daze and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Good job, Raven. Because of you, Paz and all of us are alive."

"Thanks, Boss." Raven replied solemnly.

"Hey!" Morpho called out from the cockpit. "We're closing in on Mother Base but I can't get through!" Snake stood up and walked to the door. He pressed the button and awaited for it to open. "My god." Morpho breathlessly said. From outside, the orange and red hue of hell could be seen for miles in the night sky.

* * *

 **March 16, 1975: 02:00: Lydia**

"Control tower, this is Morpho One. All hummingbirds are on the wing. We'll shake hands, then head back to the cage."

"Thank god." Lydia let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Lydia stood and walked out of the coms room to get a breath of fresh air. The mission was over…Paz and Chico were safe.

"He did it." Kaz came up behind her, patting her on the back.

"Yeah, he sure did."

"Why don't we go and tell those IAEA bastards 'hello'. It would help if the Commander and SubCommander made an appearance."

"Yeah, good idea." Lydia nodded, taking the lead out of the control tower. She opened the automated door and stepped out into the cool, night air. She looked around the platform…there were no helicopters, no staff, no Huey. "Kaz, aren't they supposed to be here?"

"Where the hell is Emmerich?" Kaz riled up, furiously looking around for the inspectors. As Lydia took another step, she heard a foreign explosion a little too close for comfort, followed by a bright flash of light from all around.

"What?!" Before she could take a look, the platform quaked beneath her feet. Kaz quickly grabbed a hold of both of Lydia's arms to keep her in balance. Behind them, emerged the other intel agents from the building along with a few other soldiers.

"Did you hear that?!"

"What's going on?" Lydia looked around to see the other platforms going up in flames! The bridges were falling apart! In her peripherals, two black helicopters glided into view, both with manned weapons.

"Take cover!" Kaz shouted taking Lydia's hand and running to the nearest steel cargo container to hide themselves from the rain of bullets. Leaning her back against the container, her eyes caught a rogue helicopter leaving the top of the command tower.

"Huey…" Lydia gritted her teeth at the sight of the chopper disappearing into the night sky away from danger. Another chain of booms caught her out of the trance. The platform shook more violently this time. Soon enough, there were bullets flying in every direction.

"Commanders! We got you!" Four soldiers made their way the pair…all out of breath,

"The inspection was a hoax!" Lydia clenched her fists. "I fucking knew it!"

"Lydia, what are you saying?!"

"Think Kaz. Where the _fuck_ is Huey right now?! I just saw a chopper leave from the tower's helipad! He did _this_!" She could physically see the anger boiling within his body.

"Dammit, this is our home!"

"Ahhh! Sub-C!" Another soldier slid into cover with them. "I got you a weapon!"

"Thanks!" Lydia took the AR from the individual. Lydia poked her head out from cover to see men in heavy-duty black suits and helmets littered all over the place! Where did these guys come from? She had never seen any uniform like that! "Kaz, we've got to move away from the tower. When it goes down, we don't want to be in it's AOE."

"Got it." He readied the pistol from his holster in his right hand.

"Let's get to the second command platform."

"We'll cover you!" A soldier shouted. "Form a perimeter. Nothing touches the commanders!"

"Yessir!"

"Move out!" Lydia motioned, keeping close to Kaz. They took frequent cover until they were able to slowly make a B-Line toward their goal. Up ahead, they were going to run into some inevitable cross-fire. "Shit." Lydia ground her teeth together. "Kaz, keep your head down." She ordered. The unmanned soldiers of MSF had found time to collect their things…but it was too late. There was no getting through this. Whoever these imposters were, they were well prepared and had the advantage to start.

As they were inching their way to cover, Lydia spotted Morpho closing in! Snake was providing some cover fire! "Contact!"

"Keep suppressing fire!" Lydia and Kaz made their way to a few heavy-duty boxes that were surrounded by friendlies. Lydia took this opportunity to ready her A.R.. She loaded in the ammo and turned her attention to an approaching enemy chopper. _What is it with the fucking birds?!_ She aimed at the rotary, opening fire with the best aim she could muster. When her weapon ran out of juice, the assault was carried on by none other than Snake.

The chopper lost engine control and came propelling into the ground. The crash blinded Lydia for a moment. Lydia quickly ducked to take cover from any flying shrapnel. "Kaz! You ok?!"

"Yeah!" He shouted back. Kaz looked extremely disheveled. Hell…everybody was. Was this a battle they could even _win_? There were so many enemy worker-bees with hardly any prepared defenders to fight back. Lydia looked back just in time over the boxes to catch a glimpse of an RPG headed right in their direction!

"SHIT! BRACE!" Lydia called out, turning around as fast as she could. The RPG collided with what cover they had. The pressure sent Lydia flying a few feet. Her head hit the surface of the platform hard. Her ears were ringing and eyesight blurred from the impact. She couldn't move a limb. "Nnngh." She moaned, trying her best to stay conscious.

"I got you Mi-" A dead, heavy body soon fell on her back, crippling her even more.

"Ah!" Lydia yelped in pain. Bullets were still flying everywhere, no doubt the man that had fallen on her was being used as a shield of some kind. The blood from the man was soaking through his gear and through her own shirt. The warm liquid was pooling on her back as she attempted to gather herself. She pried her eyes open to witness Snake helping Kaz toward Morpho; they were covered by the best soldiers mother base had left. _I've got to get to them._ Lydia groaned, using all the strength she could muster to lift up her body. Once she had some leverage, she turned around and pushed the heavy male off of her.

Bullets were ripping through the air more violently the moment she stood up. "Snake! Kaz!" She yelled out. She caught Snake's attention and earned some cover-fire from the inside of Morpho.

"Lydia, hurry!" Kaz shouted as loud as he could.

Pain. Her left leg gave out from under her and crashed to the ground. Another tremor shook the core of the platform. This time, her body was shifting with the change in gravity. As Lydia was attempting to push herself up, she plummeted on her left side and groaned. "Dammit." Lydia spat out some blood that had pooled in her mouth after she had bit the inside of her cheek. She finally hoisted herself up to see the chopper ascending from the platform. "No, no, no!" Lydia limped as fast as she could to the chopper, not even being stopped when a bullet grazed her arm. "Kaz!" The hatch was still open; his hand was extending for her! There was still time to catch up! There was still a chance! The more he shouted for her, the faster she wanted to run. Lydia even ran right to the edge…but it was too late. Kaz had been held back by Snake from jumping off Morpho himself.

She could only watch Morpho get farther away as the platform shook and shifted beneath her. Numb tears streamed from her eyes…they were gone. Snake…Kaz…they weren't going to come back. _This is the end, huh?_ Lydia turned to see her fellow brothers and sisters grabbing a hold of something to keep themselves level from the quaking platform.

The bullets had stopped whirring. Explosions were popping from all around. Everyone was scared senseless and the same went for Lydia. "Sub-C! Grab onto something! We're going down!" Shouted a soldier a few meters away from her. Shakily, she nodded her head and limped to a random metal bar before the platform started to break into pieces. Her eyes stayed on the chopper as it flew further and further away.

"Kaz…" She couldn't help but whisper as she shut her eyes. The area violently shook as another line of explosives went off that finally sent the platform hurling toward the ocean. Lydia opened her eyes to catch her surroundings before bracing for impact. The cold, dark depths were engulfing everything like a black hole in space. A soldier stationed a few meters below her was taken, no doubt swept away from the strong current surrounding them. Her heart rate was swelling at the inevitable demise that creeped up to swallow her up.

"Don't let go Miller! Hold on!" She could feel the last bit of adrenaline within her transfer to her arms as she held to the bar with all her might. Taking one final breath, she harbored on to the spared amount of oxygen that was gifted to her before she was plunged into the dark abyss.


	51. Chapter 51

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise.**

 **Author's Note: Welcome back! Enjoy as much as you're able. This chapter is a short one...but for a reason. Await the next one on 10/23!**

 **Note 10/20: Actually, this is a good place to stop and take a small vacation for the holidays! Have a good couple of months everyone! Next anticipated is now 1/1/18, I'll see you in the new year with a new chapter :)**

 **Guest K:** Yay! It's gonna go places, that much I can promise ;) If you've liked the story so far, I can only imagine you'd like what's coming up! :)

 **Guest (1, ch.50):** LMAO, Lydia as the phantom, I'm dying x'D

 **Guest (2, 49 & 50): **Trust me, I wanted her to loose it in the bunker and break Huey to pieces with her pregnant, hormonal ass. I can't answer any of your Ch. 50 review questions, but all I can say it that it's going places and you should stay tuned :D

 ****Mature Content Warning**: This is just a mature chapter in general.**

* * *

 **"I was all right for a while, I could smile for a while.**

 **But when I saw you last night, you held my hand so tight.**

 **When you stopped to say 'Hello',**

 **And though you wished me well, you couldn't tell,**

 **That I'd be crying over you, Crying over you.**

 **Then you said 'so long' left me standing all alone.**

 **Alone and crying.**

 **It's hard to understand that the touch of your hand,**

 **Can start me crying."**

 **-Don Mclean**

* * *

It felt as if a million ice daggers were invading every orifice of her body. Lydia was violently tossed around in the ocean as soon as she was submerged. The water pressure was beginning to cripple her entire body the more she was dragged down with the base. Lydia let go of the metal bar and painfully opened her eyes beneath the salty surface. The whirlpool-like waves calmed once the entirety of the platform was consumed. Lydia looked around to discern which direction led to the surface. She readied her body and spotted the orange lights from the blaze. Fighting the tide, Lydia moved her arms and legs as she made her way to the surface before her lungs could collapse.

Once she broke free from the ocean, Lydia gasped for air. The night atmosphere was almost as cold as the sea when it greeted her soaking skin. There were yells and screams from all around. Destruction was imminent. There wasn't one platform left in tact. Tears stung at Lydia's eyes at the sight of the countless number of the drowned brothers and sisters that floated around her. The light from the fires gleamed off of their dead, white eyes; etching their way into Lydia's mind. "Dammit." She choked out trying to keep afloat.

In the distance, she spotted a broken down cargo box afloat. _Gotta get to that box._ She excruciatingly swam to her goal, dodging the corpses of her comrades. When the box was in arm's length, she latched onto it and folded her arms over the top to keep her from sinking. Luckily, it was buoyant enough to hold her weight. Lydia groaned as she tried to keep in her emotions. "Kaz." She choked out, finally caving. "KAZ!" Her voice carried, but not far enough.

She attempted to keep her heart-beat at rest, but it was no use. "Dammit!" She lifted up her right fist and smashed it on the top of the box. "It's not supposed to end like this!" Lydia sobbed then looked around for anyone left alive. _Kaz, I hope you made it…for our sake._ Lydia could only let out more tears at the thought of their helpless child enduring the cold daggers of the ocean. "ANYBODY!"

"S-SUB-C!" A trembling voice resonated from Lydia's left. There were three soldiers that had taken a hold of another cargo box. The lot of them were gradually swimming for her. "Sub-C! It's good to see you alive."

"Likewise." She winced, attempting to hide her tears. She had to look strong for the men. They were all violently shivering at the freezing temperatures.

"D-did The Boss and C-Commander Miller make it out?" One of them questioned.

"I-I'm not sure." Lydia responded. "I saw them leave on Morpho."

"G-Good. He's a good pilot…he must've gotten them to safety somewhere."

"We can only hope." Sounded off another soldier.

"What are your names?" Lydia adjusted herself.

"Crow."

"Wallaby."

"Newt."

"I don't think that matters now." Lydia frowned at their code-names. "You might as well give me your real names."

"No ma'am." Newt disagreed. "We're all a part of MSF, we'll all stay unified under our code-names until there's none of us left. We abandoned our names once Boss picked us."

"Right." Lydia half-smiled at the group. "Well one of you come over to my box. We'll support one another."

"On it." Newt let go and clung onto Lydia's.

"What do we do now?" Crow questioned, looking at his sub-commander.

"I suppose we let the tide carry us."

"But we're out in the middle of the damn ocean! We have no food, no water, nothing!" Crow panicked.

"You think I don't know that?!" Lydia snapped. "I'm trying to think of a way to save all of us!"

"Listen man, if I could swim to the bottom of the ocean and grab some supplies, I totally would." Newt called to Crow. "Give us a break. It's no one's fault. We're lucky to be alive right now."

"Our home is gone. Just like that. Nngh." Wallaby groaned.

"What's wrong, you hurt?"

"I think we all are." Wallaby responded. "I don't think that matters right now, Crow. And we're all freezing to death, too." Lydia looked around again. The bodies were starting to float in different directions as the tide picked up. _Bodies…that's it!_

"Hey, I thought of something just now." Lydia motioned, catching the attention of the soldiers. "The bodies, some of them might have supplies. I'm assuming you guys are strong swimmers?" They all nodded their heads, looking around the area.

"Newt, I'm going to have you go. Crow and Wallaby, decide amongst yourselves. We're going to look for supplies in their pockets. Flasks, food bars, anything you might find. One person stay behind and keep a hold onto the box, we can't afford to lose our life-line."

"Yes ma'am!" Newt drifted off the box and started to search some of the deceased. Lydia took a deep breath and let out a shaky exhale. _I'll keep you alive as long as I can._ She thought, her mind drifting to the baby. _We'll make it through this._

The guys had gathered a few flasks. Some were filled with water, but the majority alcohol. As for food? Not much except for a few candy bars. The sun had risen over the horizon as they resumed their positions on the boxes, each item resting peacefully above the surface. Overnight, they had drifted away from the wreckage and dormant bodies of fallen comrades. Lydia was growing tired from lack of sleep. "Sub-C, if you wanted to get some sleep I'll hold onto you so you don't drift off." Newt offered.

The sun was beating down on them hard. There was no mercy given from the gaseous ball in the sky; the same went for the ocean covering the lower halves of their bodies. Sleeping almost seemed impossible, especially in the given circumstance. "I appreciate the thought." Lydia spoke. "Here." She straightened out her right arm for him to take hold. Newt latched onto her forearm firmly as she rested her left cheek on her left arm.

"Get as much sleep as you can. I'll wake you up if anything happens." _If anything happens…_ Lydia wanted to shiver at the thought. Sharks. Pirates. Who knows what lurked in these waters? No doubt Mother Base became a feeding frenzy for all types on carnivores. Lydia shut her eyes, trying to steer her mind in other direction. Faster than she thought, sleep had overtaken her.

Her resting state didn't last long until she heard a yelp coming from the other box. Lydia shot up her head then made eye contact with a very worried Crow. "I-I think he's d-dead! I've tried to wake him up but he's not budging." Lydia shifted her eyes to Wallaby who was limp.

"You have no choice, you got to let him go." Newt said.

"He's right." Lydia affirmed. "Let him go." Crow shakily let go of Wallaby's arm which caused him to instantly slide off the surface and begin to drift away. "Dammit." Lydia tightly shut her eyes, trying to keep away her tears from another fallen soldier. She opened her eyes and reached for one of the flasks that was filled with water. She unscrewed the lid and took a quick swig from the opening.

"I'm going to take a little bit of this candy bar? Is that ok?" Lydia asked Newt.

"Be my guest."

"Thanks." She opened up the generic chocolate bar and broke off a tiny square. Lydia threw the savory treat in her mouth, letting it melt. "Ahh jeez." Lydia frowned. "We'll get through this guys. We just have to stay strong."

"For sure." Crow sobbed from the other box. It was hard. People died left and right, hundreds of bodies were afloat in the ocean not too long ago. Her mind wondered to the leads and troublemakers that were off base. Were they ok? Did they get ambushed, too?

As the sun set, Lydia grew tired again with all the things running through her mind. Her skin was burned, no doubt. Judging by how the other two looked, she was probably pigmented red, maybe even blistered. As night approached the water and air only grew colder, sending them into another freezing frenzy. Over the hours, she had let Newt and Crow get some sleep…it was now her turn. "Hey…d-do you mind if I get some rest?" Lydia queasily asked.

"Go ahead." Newt stated, taking a hold of her right arm.

"Thank you." She was so weak. Her head lolled to the comfort of her bicep as she quickly drifted off to sleep.

Morning had arrived, as quiet as ever. Upon opening her eyes, everything was gone from the top of the box. "W-w-what?" Her body jolted and realized she wasn't being held on to. In the place of Newt's hand was a tightly knotted handkerchief that kept her right arm latched to the box. Her heart began beating faster at the discovery of her being alone. "Newt?! Crow?!" Their box was gone as well. They weren't anywhere in her immediate vision. "No…" Lydia struggled out a breath and gripped the box tighter. She was alone. It didn't take her long to realize the two other soldiers had abandoned her. "You cowards!" She yelled at the top of her lungs. Her only friend was the ocean current that dragged her in some random direction.

Hours had passed until there was a sharp twinge in Lydia's abdomen. "AH!" It felt like she was being impaled with a fire pick! Another harsh cramp worked its way up her spine and caused her whole body to convulse. "No!" Tears pooled in her eyes as she dragged her left hand down to her stomach. "No, no, no." She wept. All alone. "You're still alive baby. You're a fighter." Lydia said aloud. "You're a Miller. Miller's don't give up, and neither can you. AH!" Another strong surge of pain ignited in her stomach. "Dammit!" She brought her left hand back to the box.

The pain was excruciating and it didn't let up. Lydia was drained from dealing with the immense amount of torture coming from her womb and the cold numbness in the rest of her body. The moon had crawled up yet again, sending Lydia back into freezing hell. This time, it was worse. There was no warm body close by and the water felt like a barrage of never-ending paper cuts.

Sleep did not come easy. Lydia found herself dozing off but would shock herself back awake at the thought of drowning. The pain in her abdomen had stopped; there were no more contractions. The morning of the third day lost in the Caribbean began. No water…no food. She wasn't going to live through the day. She was growing tired and weaker by the minute. Her skin was seared, her body was numb from the hypothermic temperatures. "I-I can l-live." Lydia's body shook. "I-I can l-live."

"It's ok baby." Lydia's head turned to her left at the sound of a familiar voice.

"Kaz…" She choked out as she rested her cheek on her right forearm. He didn't have his shades, unusual from a bright day like today. His eyes were so blue, more beautiful than the ocean she was stuck in. His hand brushed through her damp hair. Half of Kaz's body was submerged in the ocean. He was resting beside her on the box, looking at her so lovingly as he did every day.

"Look at you." He smiled sweetly. "You need some rest."

"N-no."

"It's ok baby. Just close your eyes." Lydia's eyelids were heavy. She could feel herself drifting away. "I'll be here when you wake up."

"Kaz…" Her eyes lolled shut. "I'm pregnant…"

"It's ok baby…" _Is this the way it ends, Kaz? Am I going to see you in the afterlife?_ Red pigment began to overcome the deep blue around her. It was such a beautiful color to reflect off the ocean. "It's ok baby..." The deep maroon of blood. "It's ok baby..." Fading into diluted orange. "It's ok baby..." Into the dark blue of the sea that sparkled various hues under the sun. The colors casually melded together...just as tranquil as a sunset.


	52. Chapter 52

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise!**

 **Author's Note: New Year, new arc! :) Welcome back everyone! Hope you all had a great handful of holidays!**

 **Mature Content Warning**: Gore**

* * *

 **"Same old song, just a drop of water,**

 **In an endless sea.**

 **All we do crumbles to the ground,**

 **Though we refuse to see.**

 **Dust in the wind,**

 **All we are is dust in the** **wind."**

 **-Kansas**

* * *

Lydia's eyes slowly pried their way open. It felt as if they were glued shut. The first color that appeared to her was the purest color of white. _Is this heaven?_ She then realized she was stationary on something all too comfortable. Lydia attempted to move her arms, but was too weak to do so. As her eyes adjusted to the brightness, she heard a voice a few meters away. "Someone get the doctor!" _Huh?_ Lydia shook her head and tightly shut her eyes a few times before she could restore clearer vision. A short, slender, black woman soon made her way into Lydia's line of sight. Her hair was pinned out of her face. She was wearing a white lab coat that covered some light blue scrubs.

"D-doctor?" Lydia choked out. Her throat felt like sandpaper.

"You're lucky Miss. You were on death's door before some fisherman found ya." Her accent was thick, no doubt Lydia had ended up on an island near-by their base.

"What?" She blinked a few more times, making out more features of the room in the process. She was in some type of holding room…it looked like she was in a hospital of some kind. "Where am I?"

"You are in Portmore Emergency Hospital. I'm Doctor Aleale Lakitia, I've been your doctor for the past few days."

"Few days?"

"Yes, it is the twenty-third of March. You're lucky to be alive Miss." Lydia's mind was racing; her heart-rate increasing. The faint sound of beeps made her more conscious of her situation. _Wait…the baby_. Lydia looked down at her stomach which was covered beneath white sheets. "If you're wondering about your baby, I had to terminate it." Lydia wanted to throw up. "You had gone through too much trauma. The child was still upon your arrival."

"No." Lydia found an ounce of strength in her tinned-out arms to move them to her stomach. "No, no, no." Tears streamed down her cheeks with no struggle to keep them in.

"Miss, where did you come from?"

"Does it matter?" Lydia spat back.

"I understand emotions are high, but you need to stay calm. Otherwise you risk of going into shock."

"I was lost at sea…" Lydia sounded off slowly in a attempt to keep the memories at bay.

"Do you have a name?"

"Iris Carlsbad." She emptily sounded out her previous codenames.

"Well Miss Carlsbad, now that you're conscious, I suppose it's time to go over your medical records." Lydia just stared off into the distance. Their baby…all that was left of Kaz was washed away. There was nothing more to stand for; nothing more to care for. In an instant everything was gone. Her home, friends, husband, her… _child_. No other condition mattered anymore. "You were suffering from severe dehydration, multiple second-degree burns, a miscarriage, malnutrition, and your body temperature was in a hypothermic state when the fishermen found you. When you arrived here, you should've been dead the day before. Your willingness to survive kept you alive just in time for someone to save you." Lydia closed her eyes at the silence. "There's soft food and water for you here whenever you want it. I suggest you eat something."

"Right…" Lydia kept her eyes closed and leaned the back of her head deeper into her pillow. Lydia's hands reached under her hospital gown and rubbed her belly that was absent of life. It wasn't long after that until she had drifted off to sleep once more.

Upon waking up, it was either the morning of the next day or she just didn't get enough sleep. Lydia looked to her right to spot a new plate of food had been placed on a small desk. It was a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich. She frowned at the work of art. As much as she wanted to eat it she couldn't work up the appetite. Next to the plate was a small radio. She reached for it and set it on her lap. She examined the contraption then started to fondle with the knobs and dials, eventually getting a clear feed of some kind.

It was music…an unfamiliar song, but soothing. She placed the radio back down and relaxed back in her bed. Her strength was beginning to come back at last. Her eyes floated to the PBJ sandwich again, begging for her to at least take a bite. _I suppose I should eat. It's no use killing myself in a hospital, the doctors would never let that happen._ Lydia reached to the desk and grabbed the soft, pillowy bread between her fingers. This was her first conscious meal in days; all the more grateful that it was a PBJ sandwich. She took a bite into it then suddenly found herself hastily devouring the entirety of the small meal.

As the food made its way down her esophagus, she couldn't help but shed a tear. Kaz had crossed her mind. Is this what he meant when he said 'it would be ok'? Is this the way things were supposed to turn out? Lydia balled up her hands in front of her eyes. _Why does it even matter?_ She let out a sob, giving into more silent cries with each song that passed over the radio.

"We now take a break and go back to our segment with Senator Roland." The voice was from a male American. Must have been a U.S. channel. "What is your take on the attack on the Private Force? Do you think America should be worried?" Lydia's head snapped to the radio and stared into the black speakers.

"We should alway protect ourselves." Roland began. "Although the US didn't orchestrate the deaths of those three-hundred something men and wom—" Lydia reached over to the radio and turned it off. She was breathing fast and hard. Sweat dripped off her brow. _The attack on Mother Base…_ Lydia cradled her head in her hands. _US didn't orchestrate…_ The bastardly face of Emmerich vividly expressed itself in her mind. She remembered the rogue helicopter leaving from the top of the Command Tower. _Huey…_ Lydia wove her fingers in her long hair and pulled the roots at the scalp. "Huey…" She hissed through gritted teeth.

* * *

 _"Lydia…Lydia? Earth to Lydia?" A familiar hand waved itself in front of her face. Lydia opened her green eyes. Instantly, she was nearly blinded by the brightness of the setting sun. She was on a familiar beach and could smell the strong scent of caffeine. Before her was the vast ocean. The foamy waves were rolling on the coarse sand beneath her bare feet. Lydia looked to her right to see the familiar Café de Madre Tierra._

 _"Kaz?" The name fell from her lips as if in a normal conversation. He was standing next to her. He looked just as she remembered. He was wearing something…different…almost too comfortable: khaki shorts and a blue Hawaiian-like button up shirt. "Where are we?"_

 _"What do you mean?" He laughed as politely as he could. "Cartagena? You wanted to show us Café de Madre Tierra. You don't remember?"_

 _"Really?"_

 _"Are you joking?" Kaz crossed his arms over his chest and pouted out his bottom lip. "We flew all this way, you tell us how to get here like it's the back of your hand and you suddenly forget where we are?" Kaz approached closer to her and peeled back a smile. He gripped his hands on her arms and squeezed them gently. "Did you put too much booze in your coffee?"_

 _"I might have?" Lydia shrugged in confusion._

 _"Why don't we go for a walk, then? The sunset is beautiful."_

 _"I'm coming! Stay there!" A small girl's voice Lydia didn't recognize gloated from the direction of the cafe._

 _"Oh-ho!" Kaz declared and faced his back to Lydia. "Look who finally decided to come out and join us?!" Beyond Kaz, a small girl with long blonde hair was bolting toward them from the cafe. She looked like she was seven or so; a little tall for her age whatever it may be. As she approached the both of them, Lydia locked eyes with the bright blues of the kid._

 _"Momma, are you feeling ok? Why are you crying?" The little girl asked with one of her eyebrows raised. Lydia couldn't feel the tears flowing down her cheeks as she looked at the child. As Lydia's right hand raised to her cheek to rub away the tears, the sky turned dark._

 _Menacing clouds rolled in from the ocean. "Did you know?" Kaz asked, suddenly. Lydia's attention shifted toward her husband. Think blood oozed from beneath his aviators. "Did you know?" He reiterated, as the crimson liquid began to now flow from his mouth. In shock, Lydia stepped away from him._

 _"Thought you'd see the last of me?" To her right and toward the small girl, Volgen appeared just as Lydia had remembered. His large hand took a hold of the young girl and lifted her feet off the ground. "A little thing sure to die." He mocked as the girl struggled to break free. She was calling out for her mother._

 _She was calling out for Lydia, but she was paralyzed. As Volgen sneered at Lydia in her fearful eyes, the little girl burst into flames with a loud, blood-curdling wail. The shrieking didn't stop until the girl turned to ash. As Volgen bellowed with laughter, Lydia plunged deep into water. When she ascended to catch her breath, she was surrounded by dead bodies. "No." She look all around. "No." Dead, white eyes reflected the lightning that was violently streaking across the sky._

 _"You knew." Someone whispered._

 _"You knew." Another voice echoed._

 _"You knew." The whispers bounced off one another as they closed in on Lydia. The dead men and women around her were chanting the phrase._

 _"No. I didn't know!" Lydia's heart beat faster as she started to breath heavily. "No!"_

Lydia shot open her eyes to be surrounded by nurses. "Oh my dear, you were having night terror!" Lydia shut her eyes to block out the world. To keep the tears from falling. The darkness was the only thing that soothed her as the salty tears were begging to escape.

* * *

 **March 29, 1975: 15:00**

A few more long, depressing days rolled on. The date was like any other but only carried a different number…March 29, 1975. The nightmares didn't stop. Lydia had physically recovered well enough to be discharged from the hospital and return to into the real world with nothing to fall back on. When limping outside the hospital, she was greeted by the big city and clear skies of Portmore, Jamaica. At her departure, the nurses were kind enough to gift her a few pairs of comfortable clothes in a garbage bag before sending her off. The doctor gave her advice to head to Dream Beach, she had mentioned there was a café that hired on a regular basis to new-comers. An overwhelming sense of loneliness crept inside her…there was nothing to her name.

Upon helplessly wandering around for the next hours, Lydia found herself on Dream Beach, as instructed, a few miles south-west from the hospital. Looking around at the smiling faces running around on the beach she couldn't help but envy the children surrounded by their families. Was she the only one who survived? What was she supposed to do? She walked to the nearest palm tree and sat in the white sand then leaned her back up against the bark. The ocean was beautiful…but a tremendous grave-yard for everyone she had lost. The life of her husband, friends, and unborn child were all still floating in the unforgiving wasteland of the sea.

Lydia brought her right knee to her chest, hugging onto it and resting her chin at the top. In her peripherals, a small black girl, around the age of ten, was approaching her. "Hi, lady!" She cheerfully bellowed as she planted her two feet in front of Lydia's body. "I think I've seen you before! Are you homeless?"

"Do you always start conversations this way?" Lydia frowned, straightening her posture for the girl. Her pearly white teeth radiated with the same intensity as the sun against her dark skin.

"That's how my _grandpa_ starts conversations."

"So I see the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." Lydia let out another elongated sigh. "What do you want, kid?" _Kid…_ "If you haven't noticed, I'm not really in the mood to talk."

"I have a house that has an extra room, if you want to stay there?"

Lydia wanted to laugh, but could only let out a scoff at the kid's determination. "What would your grandpa think if you just offered a stranger to stay in his house?"

"Hmmm…I should go ask." She folded her arms behind her back. "I will be right back!" And just like that the little girl was off. _I don't think so_. Lydia stood up from her spot and walked in the opposite direction of the girl.

"I can't believe this." Lydia limped along the beach and eventually stopped short of a wooden pier.

"'Aye!" Lydia heard a holler from behind her. "Lady! Stop!" Whoever was calling to her, the man's accent was very thick. Lydia halted her slow journey and turned around to see a black gentleman running toward her in colorful clothing with the same little girl slowly catching up behind him. The man was older, he had a salty beard that was well-groomed. From the looks of it, he didn't look like a 'grandpa'. He didn't even look a day over forty! "You make an old man run like that, huh?"

"You made yourself run." Lydia spoke back. She shifted her weight on her right leg.

"My granddaughter told me you wanted to stay at our house! That is excellent! Do you have a job?!"

"Uhhhh." Lydia held up her arms. "I think you have the wrong idea, I didn't ask for hel-"

"Don't be that way!" He extended his arms. "You're probably confused. I told the doctors to tell you about me! I run a small cafe out of my home in the heart of Dream Beach. You can stay there until you get back on your feet! I always keep my eye out for individuals like you!"

"She's homeless!" The granddaughter declared from behind the man. Lydia's right hand twitched, the kid didn't know any better.

"Besides…" He continued. "It looks like you have come a long way." He nodded his head out to the ocean. Lydia's head turned to the horizon. The waves were crashing into the sand with their brute force. Before she could become lost in the waves, her gaze returned to the man. "I saw the smoke from the shore." Lydia's eyes widened as the man continued. "Let me help you one more time, yes?"

"What are you talking about?" Her eyebrows furrowed. He looked into her green eyes with his soft brown ones.

"My name is Jonathan. Why don't you come to the cafe? We can talk there." He waved his right arm for Lydia to follow him. The little girl jumped closer to Lydia as if she were pretending to be a kangaroo. She grabbed a hold of Lydia's hand and pulled her forward.

"Yes! Come on lady!"

"Marina!" Jonathan scolded the girl. "Don't pull people like they are some caboose! You're a crazy girl!" With a pouting face, the girl named Marina let go of Lydia's hand then ran ahead.

After a while of walking, the three of them arrived at a two story home. There was cement paved around it as well as multiple chairs and tables. All sorts of people were sitting outside and enjoying the light breeze. As the door opened, a wave of caffeinated aroma filled Lydia's nostrils. The chairs set around the cafe area were made of of thick material. The tables were wooden and littered around the large room. "Welcome back, Boss!" Lydia's head swiftly turned to a young man behind the counter. He was draped in a familiar dark green uniform until she blinked. He was then wearing a black shirt that hid some of his chubbiness; to compliment the shirt he wore jeans. His brown eyes were hidden behind some prescription glasses. His hair was long, blond, and kept back in a pony-tail. She must have caught him off guard because his shoulders jumped at the intensity of her stare.

"Hi Philipe!" Marina greeted as she bolted across the room and disappeared from sight.

"We have a guest, why don't you make her a coffee, eh?" Jonathan winked at the barista.

"Yessir."

"Come, have a seat." Jonathan held his arm out to the closest table and chairs. "We have much I would like to discuss!"


	53. Chapter 53

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise!**

 **Author's Note: Oh my goodness! Sorry you guys, I was so lazy last week lol. I was re-playing through MGSV just to make notes and make sure I have everything in order and then I got back into MGO and oh no lol. One thing led to another and then I was late for my chapter last week! I have to confess, that nightmare sequence from last chapter I was SO tempted to make it into a Survive nightmare lmao (maybe I'll do an April Fools Day special or something and REALLY throw you guys through a loop). There will be one next Monday just to stay on schedule :) This is a slow-moving chapter, but I hope you enjoy!**

 **R.E.W.4:** Hi there! Good to see another review from you! :) It was a very difficult chapter to write, that's for sure! Starting off the new year REALLY sad lol. That miscarriage sparked a fire that won't die for a long, long time. I can't say anything about Catherine, but I will say that you are going to be surprised! ;)

 **Guest K:** Hey man good to see you and another review! :) We'll just have to see about that! Hope you enjoy the new chapter!

 **Guest (1):** Glad to be back! Had a pretty darn good holiday! If you're curious about my upload dates I'm on a biweekly schedule for every other Monday...UNLESS I'm super lazy and play video games instead lmao (which does not happen often!). Enjoy the new chapter! :)

 **Guest (2, M):** Happy to be here and with another chapter! :) That is a very nice guess about Jonathan! You'll have to read and find out! Lydia's experiences in Groznyj Grad are a really big part of what shaped her; although it's sad af, I like to stay consistent with it. Her struggles with PTSD (and some others in the mg franchise) is a small part of what drives them! I'm glad you're enjoying it!

 ****Mature Content Warning: Mentions of gore, blood, violence**

* * *

 **"Listen to the wind blow, down comes the night.**

 **Running in the shadows, damn your love, damn your lies.**

 **Break the silence, damn the dark, damn the light."**

 **-Fleetwood Mac**

* * *

 **MARCH 29th 1975: 17:00**

"I was listening to the radio when I heard that there was some type of attack the day prior." Jonathan spoke. Lydia sipped on her black coffee, brewed a little too strong. "I was wondering what all the smoke on the horizon was. I though it might have been some type of oiling facility, ya know?" Jonathan paused and examined Lydia's features as she stared at him. "Got in my fishing boat with Marina and sailed out to check out the damage. I found two men dead. They wore dark green uniforms…and then a few hours later I found you. Still alive." Jonathan leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. "I thought you wouldn't make it to the hospital, but you have my granddaughter, Marina, to thank for that."

Lydia could sense a true nature in his eyes as he told the story. She didn't say anything. She didn't even know _what_ to say. Lydia stared into the mug of coffee that was before her. It almost seemed convenient. Convenient that this man would take it upon himself to fish out survivors. Or to fish out one in particular…

"Did you know about us?" Lydia asked.

"Us? As in the P.F.?" He raised his eyebrow and stroked his beard. "Let's say that I had a…friend that was important to me. He was a fine part of…what did you call yourselves? MSF? Something French?"

"Yeah…" Lydia ruffled her eyebrows and took another sip of the coffee. "Who was it that you knew?" Lydia prodded.

"Ehh…you wouldn't know him. He was a scrub." Jonathan nervously chuckled. " _Anyway_!" He clapped his hands together. "All that mattered is that I found _somebody_ alive and you are now in my shop!" Jonathan happily expressed and extended his arms. Lydia kept a straight face, but caught on to the sudden subject change.

"You know…" Lydia began. "You mentioned that I could live here. Just so you know, I was a barista for many years between… _careers_. If you let me work in your cafe until I can afford to be on my own…I would be very grateful."

"Really now?"

"I know when coffee is over-brewed." Lydia added.

"Now _that's_ just offensive." Philipe wined behind the counter. "There's nothing wrong with my coffee." He adjusted the thick-rimmed glasses over his nose.

"I was taught how to brew and make the perfect blends…I could show you what a real cup of coffee tastes like."

"I don't know Philipe, I think she has a hook on me. She's _reelin_ ' me in!" Jonathan moved his hands like he was holding onto a fishing rod.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me, boss!" Lydia's eyes twitched at the mention of that title.

"Well no, but I can't hire anyone if I don't know their name!" Jonathan pushed on. "What's your name? I can't just call you 'Lady'."

"Iris." She spoke. "Iris Carlsbad."

"That's a nice name you have." Jonathan smiled. "It is nice to meet you, Iris." Jonathan held out his hand from across the table. "You're hired."

"Are you _serious_?!" Philipe announced in protest. Lydia felt her mouth peel back into a snicker as she shook Jonathan's hand.

"As a heart-attack. Now you hush!" Jonathan ordered. Lydia looked to Philipe as he instantly slouched and moped. "I thought you were a grown adult, not some immature baby. Not even Marina complains like you do and she goes to school!"

"Yessir." He sighed.

"Philipe here isn't a big fan of change." Jonathan whispered and winked.

"I could tell." Lydia said with a straight face as she wavered her attention back to Jonathan. Jonathan stood up from his chair and held out his hand to help Lydia up from her seated position. She took a hold and stood up with ease.

"Let me show you around. I'll let you know where you're staying." Jonathan released Lydia's hand and waved at her to follow him. He first led her around the cafe, which was the entire first story. It was simply built and easily run. They kept pounds and pounds of coffee beans and other essential ingredients in a storage room behind the serving counter. It was unorganized, but what is a business without a little chaos?

There wasn't much to see until she was brought upstairs. There was a small area that resembled a living room. Plenty of windows were spread around to shed in some light. The couches and recliners were light blue that worked with the dark brown flooring and wood-work. "This is our living room." There was no television, but there was a radio on one of the small tables next to the three-cushioned couch. The living room led out to a large balcony that overlooked the beach. It certainly was a beautiful view. "That is Marina's room at the end of the hall." Jonathan pointed. Her door was closed. There was a large, pink sign that read 'DO NOT ENTER. KEEP OUT' in yellow crayon. "She doesn't like _anyone_ in her room." He added with a small chuckle. "If you look to the right there is the bathroom. Look to the left and that is the guest bedroom." He walked down the hall and opened the door across from the bathroom. "Make yourself at home. Let me know if you need anything. There's some extra clothes in there. You're kind of skinny…they might not be your size, but they'll work."

"Thank you." Lydia bowed her head then slowly waltzed into the room.

"We have no shortage of water, feel free to use the shower if you'd like. If you need anything to eat, our kitchen is downstairs in the cafe…you can help yourself to anything you'd like." Jonathan flashed her a smile. "I'm going to help close up the cafe. Holler if you need anything." Jonathan gently shut the door as he left Lydia alone. Lydia signed to herself and looked around the plain room. The furniture was made of wood. The cushioned sheets were going to be a nice change from the hospital's. She made her way over to the one rectangular-shaped window and opened it. The ocean breeze began to fill the room. The sound of the crashing waves made their way to her ears. Lydia sat atop the bed for only a moment before moving herself under the soft blankets.

She moved her knees close to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. A few moment after Lydia shut her eyes she found herself instantly drifting off.

Over the next couple weeks, Lydia worked beside Jonathan and Philipe at the cafe. The days moved slow from dawn to dusk. Nightmares clouded her mind when she wasn't assisting in the cafe. Bloodied faces of her fallen friends. A maroon ocean thick with blood. A beach of decomposing bodies. John. Kaz. Sharp abdomen pains would surge within her in the middle of the night…reminding her constantly of the child she had lost. Her wedding band felt like it was suffocating her with memories, but she kept it on despite the torture. The band was the only keepsake that kept her grounded; it was the only thing she didn't lose in the chaos.

Despite the nightmares, Lydia pushed herself to wake up every single day. The people surrounding her - Marina, Jonathan, and Philipe…they were good people. Working in the cafe alongside them brought her back to the days in Colombia before MSF. She integrated some of her top menu choices from the cafe; they were all a big hit! Jonathan was seeing an increase in revenue as word of mouth began to travel around the beaches and city.

As the days passed, Lydia worked on gaining back her physical strength. Her left leg was in worse shape from the muscle loss. If her leg went out, she would surely go out with it. Lydia jogged every morning like she had used to and started a routine of strength and cardio training to get back into shape. Even as she worked on her form, her left leg now had a dull, constant limp.

Just as Lydia thought, Philipe gradually got used to her presence despite the early reluctance. They quickly grew to be a dynamic duo behind the counter as she taught him how to properly brew, grind and mix different types of caffeinated beverages. She had learned he was from the United States but had moved to Jamaica to avoid the Vietnam service draft. Radio talk was mostly about Vietnam these days…the U.S.'s evolvement in Vietnam and that it was seemingly coming to a close.

Lydia had saved up every penny she had earned in tips and anything Jonathan had decided to pay her for the week. She had purchased a small wardrobe of new, comfortable clothes and active shoes. Jonathan was generous keeping her in his home…she was a complete stranger. She was lucky he had found her when he did. Soon, she could afford to be on her own and start digging more into the fall of Mother Base. It would all start with finding Huey.

* * *

 **April 12, 1975: 01:00**

For the first time, her sleep was dreamless…but short. The sound of the waves crashing onto shore made her jolt her eyes open. She felt cold, as if she was still in the ocean. Lydia shot up in a cold sweat and instantly looked at her surroundings. "Jesus." She massaged her scalp with her fingers. She swung her legs off the side of the bed then sluggishly walked to the open window. Without hesitation, she shut the window tight. Through her closed door, she could hear Jonathan talking…but nobody was talking back. Was he on the phone?

Lydia walked to the door and opened it just slightly. He was down-stairs. Lydia opened the door farther and looked around. She rolled the pads of her bare feet on the wooden floor as she made her way to the stair-case. Softly, she stepped down each stair; careful to not make any noise. "Yes-sir." He spoke. "Thank you for calling me." From he sounds of it, he had just started the conversation with the amount of "hmmm's" that followed. "That's good news. I did find the Sub-Commander in my search." Lydia's eyes widened as she peeked beyond the stairs. Jonathan was standing behind the bar of the cafe. He was speaking through the corded phone. "Right now she's recovering."

 _His connection from Mother Base?_ "No sir, she hasn't said anything. I'll be keeping an eye on her, don't worry. I let you know if she brings anything up…Zero."

 _Zero?!_ Lydia's eyes widened as Jonathan looked around the room from the cordless phones, sounds like he had slipped the title of the bastard from the nervousness plastered on his face. Lydia backed up and hid her head behind the wall from being seen. Her head started to pound as the name repeated itself over and over again. She clenched her fists so tight she could almost feel her nails start to penetrate her skin. Closing her eyes, she inhaled and exhaled quietly. When her eyes opened, she peeked beyond the wall another time…he wasn't looking around anymore.

Lydia crouched and slowly made her way to the opposite side of the bar that Jonathan was behind. She rested the left side of her body against the wooden surface, waiting to grab him once Jonathan decided to hang up and move away from the phone. "Right, I'll contact you if there is anything else." She heard the phone hang back up onto the wall-mount.

Lydia swiftly removed herself from cover. Jonathan was about to turn to walk out until Lydia lunged for him. She grabbed both of his arms and apprehended them behind his back. She roughly pushed him into the wall next to the phone with a dull "thump". Jonathan held out a small yelp at the shock of the impact. Lydia held onto both of his wrists with her right hand and kept his face pushed against the wall with her left.

"You work with Zero?" Lydia cut to the chase. "With _Cipher?!"_

"I-Iris, I don't know what you're talk-"

"Bull- _shit!_ I heard you talking to him!" She gripped onto what little hair he had and forced his head back before smashing back into the wall.

"Ow!" He cried out. "Jesus you're going to wake up Marina!"

"I don't give a fuck." Lydia hissed through her teeth. "What does he want with me?"

"If you let me go I'll tell you, Christ!" He wasn't trying to resist or break free on his own. Lydia felt his shirt start to soak with the sweat from his skin in an attempt to hide his nervousness.

"I can't believe this." Lydia let him go and backed away to give them both space. Jonathan turned around and massaged the right side of his forehead that was abused against the wall.

"Please, let's talk outside?" Jonathan extended his left arm to motion they walk out on the patio.

"You first." Lydia nodded at him to proceed. With a disappointed sigh Jonathan sluggishly stepped out onto the patio, followed by Lydia. As Lydia shut the door behind her, Jonathan walked out a few paces away from the home. "What exactly is happening here? I thought you were good!"

"Iris - we are good people! Trust me, I am your friend." Jonathan sounded out, almost guilty. "Let's just say that my 'connection' is concerned about your well-being."

"He never was." Lydia crossed her arms in protest to the statement. "So why is he now? I hardly believe that."

"Alright, alright." Jonathan held up his hands in defeat. "I do not want to fight you. I have been taking care of you for _weeks_." He threw his hands back down at his sides. "It's true. I am an informant for Zero. I monitored your Mother Base from shore and sea since it began to expand…" Jonathan admitted. "It seemed that Zero had other businessmen on board, but I was the outside perspective."

"Other informants?" Lydia questioned suspiciously. "Who was there other than Paz?"

"I'm not sure of their names." Jonathan sounded sincere in his answer. "I was telling the truth when I saw the smoke from the shore. Before I found you within an inch of your life, I was searching the sea for Big Boss…"

"I'm taking you didn't find him. He and the commander are dead. I would have been with them by now if they were alive."

"That's what I'm thinking…Iris, I'm so sorry."

"So you're just reporting Zero my every move? Are you telling him how _great_ of a Barista I am?" Lydia cracked a weak smile.

"Not every move, that was the first time I've talked to him in a while. The last time I heard from him it was in regards to your new Mother Base in '74. I sent a private message to him stating that I was going to investigate the site after the attack…that's what had prompted the call that you happened to overhear. It, obviously, took him a while to get back to me. Seems he had more important things to take care of before contacting me."

"What about Philipe? Is he part of Cipher?"

"No, he's just a simple employee as far as I know." Jonathan sighed.

"Then…you must know my real name, right?"

"I will not call you by that name…as you did not introduce yourself to me as such."

"You know…" Lydia started. "This kind of reminds me of my very first mission under Zero. I was compromised and the man who held me prisoner was in contact with Zero almost the entire time I was there and I had no idea. History seems to be repeating itself." Lydia frowned in disappointment. Jonathan was quiet as she talked. She stared into his dark eyes. "Jonathan…if you're my friend, I have something I need you to do for me."

"What is it?" Jonathan replied. "I'll help you with anything."

"There's no way I'm talking to that bastard and there's no way he can know that I am aware of your communication. I need you to ask him something. He must have informants everywhere…if he was keeping an eye on us at MSF…he must know the whereabouts of one MSF's scientists who _did_ escape." Lydia closed her right hand into a fist.

"Give me the name and I'll ask." Jonathan replied. "I'm your friend as much as his."

"Emmerich." The name slipped through her teeth. "Huey Emmerich."

"Give me a few days. You have my word, Iris. I will help you."

* * *

 **April 14, 1975: 11:00**

"Iris…" Jonathan approached Lydia from behind and placed his hand on her shoulder to grab her attention before removing it. "Can I speak with you for a moment?" He questioned, motioning Lydia into another room away from guests. "Philipe! Cover Iris for a little bit, ya?" He called out over his shoulder.

"You got it, boss!" Philipe hollered from across the room with a thumbs-up.

Lydia nodded and followed his motions into the storage area. Once in the room, Jonathan shut the door tight and sighed. "You remember that matter you told me to look into, right? About that man?"

"Why?" Lydia's heart began to beat faster. "Did he tell you something?" Her stomach felt uneasy.

"He did not tell me a lot, but I do have a broad location on where that man should be. You said… _Emmerich_ …right?" Lydia's brows furrowed at the name.

"Yes." She simply responded. "What did you find out?"

"I have to say, first, you are a strong woman, Iris." Lydia brought a smile to her face…but it wasn't from the compliment - _Huey_ \- that bastard. She was going to find and kill him if it was the last this she did. She was going to choke the life out of him just as her child had suffocated to death. "Afghanistan." Jonathan started. "I don't know the exact place, but he's there. Your good doctor is alive and well."

"Heh." Lydia scoffed. "Of course he is." She muttered to herself. _He's probably working on something…who knows what he's scheming next._

"So what are you going to do?" Lydia looked at him in his dark brown eyes, full of determination.

"I'm going to work here until I can afford to be on my own. I'm almost there, Jonathan, and then I'll be out of your hair."

"I don't know if I want you to leave. You are very popular with our guests…especially with your coffee recipes."

"Thanks Jonathan…but finding him is something I have to do. I won't ask you to do another favor like that again, I don't want the Major to think you're giving me information."

"Don't worry about it. You just have to work extra hard until your out of here, ya?"

"Sure." Lydia nodded, half-smiling. "Alright Jonathan, I'm gonna head back to work." She nodded and walked out of the storage room.

Finally…Huey was within her grasp. Now she had to find some way to Afghanistan and really find out where he was. There was no bounds to her interrogation skills and how far she would go to obtain that information. That bastard was going to pay a million times over. That monster took her home, her family…everything she, Snake, and Kaz had built. Now it was her turn to return the favor and send him into the hell-hole he crawled out of.

Once her shift ended, Lydia walked outside of the cafe and stared out into the familiar waves that gently crashed along the shore. Surfers were out until dusk had swept its way across the sky. A fusion of dark purple, blue, and orange stained the atmosphere until the sun found it's way under the horizon until the next day. Lydia couldn't sleep…her mind was awake and on the traitor that was officially back on her chopping block.

Lydia's right hand floated to her left. She started to spin her wedding band around on her ring-finger. "I'll do it for you, Kaz. The sun may be going down now, but it always comes up, right?" She closed her eyes, wanting to so desperately see him when she opened them back up.

"Who are you talking to?" Marina's small voice made it up to Lydia's ears.

"Nobody, little lady. I'm just happy…when I'm that way I guess I talk to myself."

"Wow, you're _happy_?" She sounded oddly surprised and excited at the same time…

"Yes…" Lydia responded, raising her eyebrow at the child. "Isn't it late for you? It's _way_ past your bedtime. You have school in the morning, yeah? Why don't you go to bed?"

"Awh, no fair." She pouted…instantly walking back into the home. _It is so easy to send her away._ Lydia chuckled to herself.

She stood on the balcony, listening to the waves without getting a wink of sleep. She stayed awake to keep the news of Huey's whereabouts fresh in her mind. It was like the day before Christmas…and she was going to get her present all in due time. The thought of having her hands around his scrawny neck enthralled her to no end. She wanted to feel every bone break beneath her grip. Revenge was going to be hers.


	54. Chapter 54

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise!**

 **Author's Note: I AM SUCH AN ASSHOLE AND DON'T KEEP MY PROMISES LOL. Alright, Monster Hunter: World and Dragonball Fighter Z came out and I've been dead ever since! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter :)**

 **Guest (M):** I can't WAIT for Ocelot to come back lmao. I miss him so much! I think he's my favorite to write. I saw Chico's concept art from the MGSV art book I have! HE LOOKED SO BADASS. A SHAME WE DIDN'T GET HIM AND HIS GIANT ASS MACHETE IN THE GAAAAAAAAAAME. But that's why I exist! :3

 **Guest K:** Thank you, thank you! I'm excited for her to get to him as much as you are! I hate that asshat!

 ****Mature Content Warning: Gore (Not crazy amount, warning just in case)**

* * *

 **"Remember, tonight we're gonna run 'till dawn.**

 **Remember, tonight we're gonna say it.**

 **We'll never stop, we got a good thing goin' on.**

 **I know you've heard it all before,**

 **But I really need you darlin', every day I need you more."**

 **-Electric Light Orchestra**

* * *

 **April 17, 1975: 12:00**

Dressed in a dark green shirt and dark blue jeans, Lydia was waltzing around the large lounging area of Jonathan's Cafe. It was another work day and the store was hopping with business! Balancing a tray full of large coffee mugs, Lydia approached a group of three women dressed in colorful bathing-suits. "Alright, I have two Jamaican Dreams and three Cocoanut Paradise Mochas?"

"Yeah thanks!" The receivers of the coffee all sounded off simultaneously.

"No problem. Let me know if you need anything else." Lydia nodded and limped back toward the counter until something interesting caught her ear's attention. There were two words plastered together that she thought she would never publicly hear again. "Big Boss…" The words circled around in her mind, almost making Lydia dizzy. Her head snapped to her left to pinpoint four men in green cargo pants with black, loose tee-shirts attempting to find a place to sit. Each of them were a different physical stature but all shared nearly the same facial structure. If she had to guess, the four of them were brothers. She kept an eye on the four until they were comfortable at a table and waiting to be greeted. Lydia, almost too fast for her own good, approached the group.

"Hi boys, what can I get for you today?"

"Just four black coffees…thanks." The tallest of the four men spoke. He was the leanest of the group. His strong face had a few small moles and freckles littered about.

"Coming right up." Lydia nodded and got the coffees as fast as they were ordered. Upon returning to the table, the words met her ears once again.

"I'm telling you guys, someone is recruiting for Big Boss, and I _seriously_ think we should do it." The one that spoke next was smaller and stouter in stature. He definitely had the most muscle of the group. He had short, frizzy, curly brown hair.

"But what about their base, man? Wasn't it…you know?" Another brother, probably an identical twin to the man before spoke up.

"Blown up?" The tallest answered the twin's question. Lydia began started to place the coffee cups down in front of each of the men.

"Uhhh yeah…" The curly-haired one continued. "But I hear that someone is bringing in new guys to start up what this _Big Boss_ left behind. I think the leader's a survivor or something?"

This could be her chance to get out! If she were to find out where this new 'Big Boss' was, she could join them and easily get to Afghanistan from there! "…Where?" Lydia butted in. The four men all looked at her like she was crazy. The way they sized her up almost made her regret asking in the first place.

"Why do _you_ want to know?" The tallest one inquired at the interruption.

"Let's just say, I have a history." The taller man's eyes floated to the scar running across her right cheek then the burn peeking it's way behind her ear. It looks like he had a million questions, but held himself back.

"Well if you're looking to sign your life away I suppose…and if you pass their recruitment test. This new guy is in Rhodesia." The curly-haired one blurted out. "But I don't know why you would want to do that and hang around with a bunch of guys! You're fucking beautiful." The quiet twin of the group smacked him over the head.

"Thanks…" Lydia trailed off. "Your drinks are on me." She muttered and swiftly walked into the restroom across the dining area. Once in there, she paced back and forth from stall to stall.

Another Boss? Was someone impersonating him? What made anyone think they could even replace him? The thought of some stranger recruiting under his name just to get men for a P.F. tore at her insides. MSF was the greatest PF around…there was no copying or repeating what they had. Lydia stared at herself in the small rounded mirror placed above one of the sinks and examined her own face.

Maybe this was it? "Ok Lydia…what do you do?" She turned on the cold water and watched the water pool in her cupped hands. She splashed her face then wiped it clean with the bottom of her shirt. _Should I go? Maybe there is a slight chance they know of me…and that will make it easier for me to get around to find Huey._ She straightened herself up and walked out of the bathroom, eyeing at the died-down business. _I'll do it._ She thought to herself as her eyes traveled back to the four men. _What have I got left to lose anyway? I'll be out of Jonathan's hair and Cipher's eye._ Lydia inhaled deeply and approached the men. She pulled up a chair at one of the adjacent tables and sat to their side. "So boys…when are you leaving?"

"Excuse us?" The tall man that was questioning her before spat out, placing his coffee cup back on the table.

"You're thinking about enlisting in this PF right? I want to go with you." She simply stated. "If this guy is really recruiting under Big Boss, you might find it convenient to have me around."

"And what makes you so special?" The muscular man of the bunch questioned.

"Well…what do you know about MSF?" She questioned, leaning back in the chair. Not caring about any new customers that walked into the building. Jonathan and Philipe were on shift anyhow. "Let's just say, if you take me with you…I can get you in."

"Serious?" The curly-haired one questioned in slight disbelief.

"As a heart-attack." Lydia responded. "That is…if one of you buy my plane ticket."

"Wait…are you trying to scam us?" Curly questioned, leaning in.

"This doesn't sound right." The smallest, muscular man conspired.

"My name is Iris Carlsbad…I was Big Boss' right hand woman and SubCommander next to Kazuhira Miller." The mention of Kaz's name made her spine shiver. The men almost fell out of their chairs at her sudden change in her body language. She looked in every one of the men's eyes one by one. "I hadn't told that information to _anyone_. If this guy in Rhodesia is really recruiting under Big Boss and if you say he's a survivor…let's just way when you bring me to them, you'll be heavily rewarded. It's simple…I'm your ticket in."

All of their mouths almost fell to the ground at her declaration. The four of them stood up from their seats and saluted her with the highest respect. "Ma'am!" They all shouted, catching the attention of the entire business.

"Sit down, dammit." Lydia dully ordered as she shielded her face behind her hands in embarrassment. Each of them looked around the cafe then took their seats.

"My name is Rocco Peters." The tallest spoke.

"I'm Richard Peters." The muscular introduced.

"It would be an honor to travel with you. Phillip Peters." The curly-haired twin said.

"Anthony Peters." The other twin smiled.

"All brothers, huh?" Lydia cracked back a grin.

"Yes ma'am."

"Nice to meet you all. Well, whenever you decide to go, come back here and give me my ticket." She ordered in a kind tone. "I'll be waiting for you."

"Yes ma'am!" They all bellowed again, instantly filing themselves out of the building…not even finishing their cups of coffee. _Good grief._ Lydia sighed to herself, standing up despite all the eyes that were now glued to her. She picked up the four mugs and brought them to the back behind the purchase counter.

"Iris…what was that about?" Philipe walked up beside. He was drying a newly-washed mug with a dry rag.

"Well, my friend, it sounds like I'm leaving."

"What? You just _got_ here!" Philipe sighed. "Man, you can't leave me now!"

"Yeah, I sure can." Lydia winked. "You guys will survive without me."

"I don't know, I think I was _finally_ starting to fall in love with your coffee." Philipe frowned comically.

"Jesus, you'll be fine, ya baby." Lydia laughed.

A few hours had passed. Lydia had tracked down and caught Jonathan up on the situation throughout the day. Anthony, of the four brothers, had returned near the end of her shift and gifted her the plane ticket that was set to leave the following day. When the day finally came to an end, Jonathan had approached Lydia resting outside on the balcony upstairs.

"Iris, you know…this is a blessing of sorts."

"I suppose." Lydia agreed, looking out into the ocean. "You know…every time I look out into the ocean I'm reminded of the family that I lost. Now I'm one step closer to closure."

"You don't have to tell me that." Jonathan stood at her side. "There is nothing that can sweep away the thought of lost ones…not even the ocean. All that matters is that those memories - those _good_ times - are forever in your heart. You must not let the darkness of judgement and revenge cloud what light you have left, Iris."

"Heh, you have the right things to say but at the wrong time I need to hear them." Lydia sighed. "Thank you for your hospitality, Jonathan. You are a wonderful grandfather. Marina is lucky she has you. I cannot thank you enough for the giving me a place to eat, sleep, and work this past month. You kept me hoping and wondering if life was worth living. Now I believe that it is." Those words brought a solemn smile to Jonathan's face. Lydia extended arm to shake his hand.

"No, no, bring it here, sister." Lydia smiled as he grabbed onto her hand. They pulled each other in for a short embrace. Upon departure, Jonathan patted her shoulders. "There is nothing I should worry about. You are _you_ , Iris. You have made it this far in life, this is just another stepping stone that expands your path a little farther than before."

"Thank you Jonathan…for everything."

"You're welcome, my dear." He smiled, then walked back into the building. Lydia took the next few hours to pack the little things she had left and found herself leaving for the airport when the morning sun rose over the horizon.

* * *

 **April 18, 1975: 05:00**

Lydia bid farewell to the family that helped her get back on her two feet…and now it was time to finally depart from them and Cipher's close watch. She met up with the four brothers once settled in the airport.

"Ma'am, glad you could make it." Rocco spoke as all four of them saluted her.

"Thanks boys." She smiled. "At ease. You don't have to do that around me." She stated.

"Whatever makes you happy, ma'am." Rocco continued.

"So…what happened?" Lydia's eyebrow twitched at the question erupting from Anthony. "You know, to MSF?"

"Man, what kind of question is that?" Phillip bopped his brother over the head. "You don't ask that to someone you don't know."

"Hey! Sorry!" Anthony apologized.

"It's ok." Lydia forgave them. "Maybe one day I'll want to resurface those wounds, but not today. One of these days you'll understand."

"Yes ma'am." Anthony solemnly responded. He received another bonk on his head, this time from Rocco.

The plane was small and wasn't very crowded once they were all boarded. Lydia sat in the middle of the plane and was surrounded by strangers. The four brothers were spread out around the plane, too. When the plane was finally in the air, it was surely going to be a smooth tide. About two hours in, the people surrounding her were sound asleep...breathing and snoring loudly. There were a couple of magazines placed in the pocket that was attached to the seat in front of her. Lydia stretched out her hand a grabbed a tan-colored magazine in the back of the ones stuffed in there. Once she slid it out, the cover was blank with a bold red stamp on it that read "TOP SECRET".

 _What in the world?_ _Lydia looked around first before looking back to to the manilla folder in her hands. She gently opened it to see the familiar black and white head-shot of Granin. "If you are caught or captured at any moment and the enemy finds out who you are, in a nutshell, the United States will deny your existence. You and your mission will be compromised." Lydia jolted her head up from the file to see Klein piloting from across the plane._

 _Lydia tightly shut her eyes. "Pull the shoot on four..." Lydia whispered to her self. "Count to four."_

 _"What are you whispering back there?" Klein questioned confused. "In any case, I suggest you get some sleep. It's going to be a long flight." Lydia opened her eyes to see Klein still facing away from her. His skin on his neck was pale. The back of his head was leaking blood from the gash he got from the impact during his landing._

 _"Pull the shoot on four..." She whispered again and closed her eyes. The plane suddenly jolted violently which made Lydia's shoot open._

In her hands, she held onto a Time magazine that had a small Vietnamese child on the cover with tears running down their eyes. "Attention passengers, for your safety, please stay seated. We're experiencing some unexpected turbulence." A woman spoke from the communications system at the front of the plane. Lydia put the magazine back in the pouch and massaged her temples as the plane continued to rumble. _I hate planes._

Rhodesia was going through an internal struggle within their government that had upraised a civil war. There were three parties involved, the Rhodesian Government, the National Liberation Army, and the People's Revolutionary Army. It seemed the negotiations between the three parties were short-lived and no party has yet to have had a substantial military victory. If anything, this new PF was branding themselves as mercenaries and lending their hands and weapons to the highest bidder. Starting a PF in a desperate country is bound to bring in business.

The plane ride took nearly fifteen solid hours until they landed on solid ground in Harare. For the most part, the flight was nothing to complain about except for 'unexpected' turbulence. The airport was busy as everyone loaded off the plane. They each grabbed their luggage and proceeded on their expedition. "I'm hoping you know where to go?"

"Yeah, apparently their base camp in in Nyanga. Pretty isolated from the population seeing as it's a little high up in the mountains." Rocco pulled a map out of his breast pocket. He pointed to a small 'X' marked on it. "It shouldn't be too bad of a drive…I hope."

"You hope, ugh. I just want to walk around for a while and stretch my legs." Anthony wined.

"Stop your wining or you're going to get fired before you get there." Richard scolded the younger brother. They all wandered around the airport for a while before discovering a large taxi line that would bus the five of then to the Nyanga region. Since it was late in the evening, the five of them pitched in to split a room near-by the airport and waited to take off the next morning.

The morning of the nineteenth arrived sooner than expected. Lydia was jet-lagged…hell so was the entire team. Slowly, all of them gathered their belongings and waltzed their way to the bus service. With the slowness of the driver, it took nearly five hours to make it to Nyanga. Still tired, they had compromised to stay the rest of the day in a small hotel recovering and building their strength back up for quite the hike.

* * *

 **April 20, 1975: 05:00**

Upon walking out of the hotel and after dining on a large breakfast, Lydia and the crew walked outside. The surroundings were absolutely breath-taking. When Lydia had arrived, she didn't take it all in. Large rolling hills and mountains were all around. There was tall, dark grass around the small village they were taken to with dense forests in the distance. This wasn't a typical jungle; it was stunning. A light mist surrounded the village and deeper into the mountains. The masking of the mist was probably the main reason why the PF had picked Nyanga in the first place.

"Alright, so it's a straight-shot North from here." Rocco pointed North. "We're almost there."

"Finally." Lydia sighed with relief. "I'm ready for a hike, what about you guys?"

"Ready as I'll ever be!" Phillip noted.

"Iris, can you carry me?" Anthony frowned. Lydia rolled her eyes as her response and was the first to lead the group.

After about four hours of hiking through dense foliage and mist, the team finally came to a clearing of sorts. Further north was the compound they had been looking for. The entrance and perimeter was guarded by a few intimidating men in dark green uniforms. Each of them were armed with rifles and other tactical gear. "Alright, so when we get there, let me do the talking." Lydia motioned. "Those guys don't know if we're friend or foe and will shoot on-site if they think we're a threat."

"Yes ma'am." Each of them nodded. The five of them exposed themselves from behind the cover of the forrest. It was a large facility with a tall wall surrounding them. From beyond the wall, she could hear what sounded like target practice and tactical training. The closer they got Lydia was impressed as the majority of the men on guard were built with near-perfect proportion. Lydia raised her eyebrow upon approaching the base with the four brothers. "Hey you!" One of the guards shouted from the only watch tower. He held up and aimed his rifle at the party. "Stop right there!"

"Boys, hold up your hands." Lydia quietly ordered. Lydia held up her hands innocently to show she was unarmed. Two more men from within the compound waltzed themselves into view. "You have a nice little business going on here." Lydia complimented.

"Heh, wouldn't you like to know? State _your_ business." One of the two men asked while the other searched the rest of the party and their luggage.

"We hear that Big Boss is recruiting. You must have some sort of entrance examination…right?" Lydia asked as she returned her hands to her sides.

"Heh, sure. I think you're a few days late tho. But I don't see what's wrong with taking volunteers to the XO. Give me a sec." The man looked at his comrade, who had just finished searching the last brother. "Hey S. Armadillo, keep an eye on them, I'll be right back." _S. Armadillo? I see that they kept the code names…_ Lydia wanted to laugh to herself at the simplicity.

Within half an hour, the man came back with a half-smile on his face. "Alright, the five of you can come in. Our XO is waiting for you."

"Thank you. Come on boys." Lydia motioned toward the brothers to follow behind her. Upon walking into the gated community, she took note of about a dozen soldiers in immediate view. If there were more, they were probably scattered inside various tents that were littered across the camp.

"Right this way." The man spoke up again as he led them toward the heart of the camp. In the distance, she could see a tall, lean man standing before a group of five or six giving out orders. He was wearing black combat boots, dark green pants, a white tee-shirt that was loosely tucked in, and a harness for his weapons. It was very casual for a leader…but then again their PF was probably just getting started. When Lydia's eyes moved to the back of the man's head, she couldn't help but notice a nostalgic blonde shade that caught her eyes. She took in some if his fine features as the group approached him. When this leader stretched out his left hand, she caught a familiar, gold wedding band around his finger and watch secured tightly on his wrist.

Lydia stopped in her tracks the moment she heard coherent words fall from the man's mouth. "Alright men, you've done a fine job with your training. I congratulate you with your official position as one of us. Welcome to Diamond Dogs."

"Wow…" Rocco vocalized from behind Lydia. Her eyes traveled up his left arm and back to his bright, blonde hair which he so casually pushed back before turning around to face the volunteers.

"Sir, I have the volunteers." The glint from the sun on his golden sunglasses is what caught her attention next. His handsome face was always hiding behind those frames, but it gave Lydia the confirmation she needed. Through the dark shades, his eyes must have been closed because he didn't see her right away. Was she dreaming? What this… _real_?

Lydia slid her right foot forward as she resisted the urge to not run to him right then and there. If she had, she could have triggered a reaction from the soldiers standing around. It wasn't worth taking the chance and losing her life when she had just found it again. "Tell me…" Lydia stuttered out, feeling the tears come up through her eyes. The sound of her voice carried to the man who snapped his head in Lydia's direction to finally look at her. "Tell me I'm not dreaming."

His lower lip trembled before he caught it between his teeth. "Lydia?" He spoke her name. "Lydia?" He asked again, this time with more confidence. Her own name echoed in her ears as they fell from his lips. His voice was shaky, almost as if he still couldn't believe what he was seeing. Almost like his own words couldn't register in his brain. His sweet voice, the voice that belonged to her lost husband, was now recovered.

"D-do you two-?" The soldier who had guided them together spoke up.

"Kazuhira…" Lydia choked out, making the first move to limp toward him. "Oh my god, Kaz!" Without another word, Kazuhira had stretched out his arms and met her a few steps ahead, bringing his wife into a tight embrace. Upon meeting each other, Kaz instantly fell to his knees and brought Lydia with him. He was sobbing into her shoulder as was she into his. In that moment, no one else mattered. No shocked expressions or movements from those around wouldn't dare to tear them apart.

He cradled his right hand under the base of her pony-tail and his left arm around her lower back. "It is you." He parted away from her and caressed his thumb across the scar on her right cheek. "I can't believe it." She could see the struggle in his face to keep his composure in front of his men. "I thought I had lost you. _Everything_."

Lydia grabbed onto his left hand and held it between her's. Her forehead rested on his shoulder as the tears fell from her green eyes. Kaz straightened his back and lifted his head to the group of four brothers. "See it that these men get some food and water, immediately!" Kaz ordered out as Lydia remained still. "Come on." Kaz quietly spoke to Lydia. He stood up and gently tugged her up with him. He squeezed her hand with his left and guided her to a large, isolated tent. Inside, there was a large cot and a couple of plastic containers where he kept his clothes. He let go of Lydia's hand then turned around to face her. He lifted up his sunglasses and rested them on top of his head. His eyes were bloodshot but still as blue as ever. Without saying a word, they embraced each other another time in the private quarters. "I'm never going to lose you again." Kaz whispered in her ear. "Never again."


	55. Chapter 55

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise!**

 **Author's Note: Yes, yes my friends *rubs hands together* it's been a hot minute...or two. As I wrote in the reviews, it's been a CRAZY couple of months and I hadn't had the time to update because *life*. Thank you for your patience and thank you to everyone who followed and favorited during the long unwanted break!** **I saw a big increase in followers after Survive released, SO WELCOME PEOPLES!** **WE FINALLY CONTINUE WITH A BACK TO BACK, RIGHT BACK AT 'CHA LYDIA DEPRESSED ASS KICKIN' ACTION. The next couple of chapters are slow...I'm going to admit. But I had to kick myself with one of the things you'll see in this chapter...and you'll know it when you see it. Short chapter, but some necessary dialogue to lead into the next arc. We're officially our of "Post Peace Walker" and into "Pre MGSV". Wahoo!**

 **I wrote a April Fools story where Lydia was sucked into the MGSurvive world. Let me know if you wanna read it in the reviews lol. It was such a garbage nightmare that I forced myself NOT to upload it earlier this month lmao ;)**

 **Guest K** : MUH MAN! I missed responding to your reviews! The reunion was crazy to write and tbh I couldn't think of the most perfect way to bring them back together but I was like "I have to make this happen somehow" *word vomit* lol :'3

 **Guest (M):** Thank you for another review AND checking back! :) I cannot WAIT (I seem to type this a lot) to get Ocelot back. The reunion is *muah* perfection. And I cannot WAIT to incorporate Chico. I found a way and it's happening 100% since I KINDA changed what happened to Paz back when MSF got blown to teeny bits. I can't wait to welcome Ocelot and Chico with his mighty machete.

 **Guest (2/8):** You...you used my favorite word. "Moist". I have been blessed by this review. JUST LIKE YOU, I CAN'T WAIT FOR THAT ANTICIPATED SPICY WESTERN MOISTNESS. Ocelot's just the best. And I've been whining about him not being in the story ever since he left D: Soon *shakes fist* soon!

 **Guest (2/18):** There are a lot of guests! ;3 I don't know if I already responded to your review above, but the answer is ABSOLUTELY. *Presses Continue*.

* * *

 **"Mister Postman, look and see,**

 **Is there a letter in your bag for me?**

 **I been waiting a long, long time,**

 **Since I heard from that girl of mine.**

 **There must be some word today,**

 **From my girlfriend so far away.**

 **Please, Mister Postman, look and see,**

 **If there's a letter, a letter for me.**

 **I been standing here waiting, Mister Postman.**

 **So patiently.**

 **For just a card or just a letter,**

 **Saying she's returning home to me."**

 **-The Beatles**

* * *

Kazuhira Miller's eyes stared intently into Lydia's. Eyes that looked like they wanted to kill. They were glossed over and filled with all the sadness a man could muster just before he were to explode in a destructive rampage. His body was tense as if he was still in the process of realizing his lost wife had survived the genocide of MSF. Lydia read his lips as her ears seemingly went deaf to the sound of his voice at the question that fell from his mouth. "What happened?" She stared blankly at his chapped lips. With heaviness, she shifted her green eyes to his menacing blues.

Lydia struggled, internally. Contradicting emotions flowed through her veins and played tug-of-war with her soul as every possible answer to Kaz's question scrambled through her brain. What happened? Everything had happened. But what had happened to _him?_ What had happened to _Jack_? Was he dead? Lydia's silence and wandering eyes eventually tipped Kazuhira's reaction scale until he released a slightly annoyed huff. "I get it." Kaz spoke with slight irritation. "Hell…I didn't even think you were alive. I can't even imagine what's going through that brain of yours." Kaz lifted up his right hand and scratched the back of his head. He turned his back to her and walked to his cot.

Lydia's eyes never left him as he sat on the cushion. It felt as if a tether had pulled her to approach him…but she stayed her distance. Kaz rested his elbows on his knees and cradled his face within his cupped hands. Slowly, he slid both of them up over his forehead and to his hair, weaving his fingers through his golden strands. The glasses that had been resting on top of his head fell off with no care. His nails scraped his scalp as he curled his fingers into a fist. "Cipher has Boss." He admitted while gritting his teeth.

Lydia's heart felt like it had dropped to her stomach. "He's a-alive?"

"Boss was revived through defibrillation…but his heart was stopped for too long. He barely survived...but he's in a coma. The doctors…they kept putting me under. I told them to stop." It looked like he was going to pull his hair out. "When I came too, Boss was gone."

Lydia shuffled her feet to Kaz's cot and crossed her legs as she lowered herself to the ground. "Do you know where he is?"

"If I knew where he was, don't you think he would be _here_?" Kaz snapped. Lydia didn't react at Kaz's sudden body-jerk. He faced her with frustration and annoyance clouding his face for only a couple of moments. Kaz's body language soon softened when he continued to stare upon her. His shoulders relaxed with a sigh. "Sorry." He spoke in a whisper she almost couldn't hear. "Morpho went down. I was barely conscious before we crashed into the ocean. It all happened so fast. Before I knew it I was in some hospital next to Boss and Raven. All of us were beaten and battered. No matter how hard I tried to fight it, they kept knocking me out. The next time I woke up, the both of them were gone."

"What about Chico and Paz?" Lydia asked. "Do you remember what had happened to them?"

Kaz's face fell. "I caught a glimpse of Chico getting thrown from the chopper when we were spinning out of control after colliding into another chopper. As for Paz…well…" He sighed. "She was going on about some _bomb_. She was delirious from the torture. Raven and Snake were trying to calm her down…I remember Snake telling her 'we got them all out' but she kept chanting how there was another somewhere inside her. I've never seen anything like it. It's as if she was hypnotized. She opened Morpho's hatch and jumped out. Everything from there just happened so fast. I was blasted back from some kind of shockwave but I'm not sure if it was from her or not. Either way…she's dead."

"So they both died anyway…" Lydia frowned. "We should've left them to die in Omega. What a waste."

"I wouldn't say that. Chico talked and Huey…he let them all in. It would've happened either way." Lydia was silent and let her head fall in her hands.

Kaz's hand found itself on her back. "But I have a lead on the Boss' location." Lydia dropped her hands and returned a curious gaze to Kaz.

"How?"

"You know how I said Cipher has him? I got in contact with him…or…really…he made contact with me."

"What do you mean?" Lydia's eyebrows furrowed.

"Zero was a business partner of mine. I knew about Paz…I knew who she really was all along." Lydia's face twitched in disbelief. "I used her and Zadornov to MSF's advantage. MSF would have never gotten as big if it wasn't for them… _and_ Zero."

"So…what you're trying to tell me is that Zero kickstarted this whole mess?"

"I invited them on board and Cipher found his way into our system and corrupted it all like a parasite."

"Did Boss know about this?"

"Yes. I-I didn't want to get you involved. I know how you feel about him, I regret not telling you sooner." Lydia shook her head and let out a long sigh.

"Looks like we both have some regrets. So what does this mean about Boss' whereabouts?" She urged him to move on, not wanting to stay on the subject of Zero for much longer.

"Well, he didn't feel like I was 'capable' of keeping him safe so he took matters into his own hands. All he gave me was a point of contact." Kaz dug his hands into one of his pant's pockets. "He said it it would lead me to a variety of messengers who would then lead to someone _he_ trusted." Kaz pulled out a notebook and started to flip through the pages. "Apparently, this 'contact' was a friend to Boss…but Snake didn't talk about his 'friends' much, so, I'm in the dark." Kaz stopped on a page and handed Lydia the notebook. She took it from him and examined what was on the page. "I'm no good at puzzles, so it's a good thing we were reunited. It'll be much easier to find Boss with you around."

Lydia rolled her eyes. "Kaz, I haven't done this kind of intel work since I lived in the States." She looked at him to give her brain a break from the jumble of numbers. "I'll try my best but I can't give you any promises. Do you have anything that can help me decipher this?"

"He did mention anything about this 'friend'?"

"Just that they've known Snake for ten years longer than I have." Kaz seemed disappointed. "Anyone on your old team you might suspect?"

"No, not really. I wouldn't call Sigint and ParaMedic his friends."

"Alright. I trust you on this. I haven't had a lot of time to look at it and whenever I do I just want to throw it away. I'm not sure when Snake is going to wake up, but we have to figure it out before he does. Lydia, he's going to need our help and we need to be ready when the time comes."

"Understood." Lydia nodded.

"When he wakes up, we're going to go after Cipher. He had the balls to tell me that he didn't intend for _any_ of _this_ to happen. All because he wanted Snake on his side. We're going to put him out of his misery when we get Snake back."

"He's one delirious old man." Lydia added more ingredients into Kaz's anger-stew. Kaz spoke, but he was muffled out as Lydia's eyes focused on the notebook. A series of numbers and dots that would eventually make sense with more concentration.

"Lydia?" Kaz pat her on the back with one of his hands. "You alright?"

"Just concentrating."

"Did you even hear a word I said? Ugh. Never mind. Anyway…you must be tired from making it all the way here. I am happy to see you but I think you should get some rest. I'll give you some time before I start asking questions."

"Thank you, Kaz." Without hesitation, Kaz stood up from the cot.

"I have to go debrief my men. They're probably wondering what the hell just happened. I'll be back soon." Just like that, Kaz was out of the tent.

Lydia crawled toward the pillow and pulled back the warm fabric. With the notebook still in hand, she tucked herself into the cot and stared at the ceiling of the tent. It was surreal. It was so different that it didn't even seem like she was there. She brought up the notes and held them above her head.

"13118315. 31.6289|14,65.7372|5

8511201518\. 55.3387,92.5396

118114\. 36.6100,67.3301

1225491\. 17.9469,-76.8740"

Below the jumbled numbers were a few scribbles as if Kaz had attempted to make sense of that madness, but had given up. Lydia placed the notebook next to her pillow and shut her eyes. Kaz had thrown a lot at her. She didn't know why she felt at ease _without_ him there. She had assumed he was dead. It was a relief knowing he was alive, but there was a void that hadn't been filled by their rendezvous. Lydia's right hand floated to her abdomen. Part of them had perished in the ocean - even now that Kaz was back, there was no bringing back what she had lost.

The next few days dragged on. Kaz and Lydia attempted their best to spend time with one another, but found it hard to stay in each other's company for an extended period of time. Familiarity had to be reestablished. To Lydia, it felt as if they were starting over. New home, new rules, new…everything. Day after day the two carefully started to become closer.

Kazuhira Miller was certainly different than before. His internal drive was almost menacing. As he interacted with the soldiers around the camp, he didn't carry that classic inspiring personality. He was distant, cunning, harsh. Groups of men would migrate to Lydia to train and learn new techniques from her after examining her working out, participating in target practice, and combat. It almost felt like the guys were needing some relief from their Commander and found that in Lydia's company. It's like her old role in MSF naturally carried right on over.

Lydia taking over the tactical training was a blessing in disguise for Kazuhira. He started to really dig into expenses, trades, and new business deals - what he's been good at. As Lydia and Kaz grew closer as time passed, they created a rotational routine for the two of them to efficiently expand Diamond Dogs. Each of them tag-teamed stealth and action tactical training. Lydia split her primary roles between espionage and reconnaissance. Kaz's roles mirrored what he had prior. Although, he would leave base more often to meet with potential partners with no fear. To no surprise, he would come back with a new deal in hand and more clients on the way!

A few weeks had passed before Lydia and Kazuhira became intimate again. After establishing their love for one another Kaz started to get some of his personality back and same went for Lydia. The troops' morale began to expand with the growing kindness and leadership of Kaz. Kaz made an effort to get to know something unique about each of the men and become more personable with them. Although, he did not ask Lydia about the events that transpired in her absence. It seemed like something had stopped him from asking every time. Was it respect for her privacy? Or was he afraid to resurface the wounds? They didn't speak of MSF once after their initial meeting, instead, they saw the flames and blood in their dreams every night.

* * *

 **May 12, 1975: 12:00**

The day was certainly a hot and humid one. It felt as if Lydia was breathing in a gallon of water every time she inhaled. After an hour and a half long work-out, she found herself back in her tent feeling like she was nearing death. She smothered her sweaty face against her pillow before turning around and grabbing the notebook Kaz had leant to her about a month ago. Still no budging with that damn thing.

She had truly fallen out of practice with code-breaking. "If only this was a fucking _word_ puzzle and not numbers we might be getting somewhere." Lydia complained. As if it were an act of God, the notebook slipped from her fingers and smacked down right on her nose. Her shoulders jumped in surprise at the impact. "Ugh!" Lydia dropped her arms to the cot and laid there - dormant and unmotivated to move the notebook from her face.

"You ok there, Lydia?" She heard Kaz walk in. "W-what is happening here?" He was caught off-guard at the sight.

"Everything." Lydia groaned. " _Everything_ is happening here."

She felt the notebook leave her face which queued for her to open her eyes. She examined Kaz as his eyes glossed over the note. "I take it no luck?"

"None." Lydia reported. "Don't worry, Kaz. I'll figure it out. Wherever Boss is, I'm sure Zero made an effort to keep him safe at all costs." Lydia rolled her eyes.

"Tch." Kaz nonchalantly tossed the notebook to the other side of the tent then sat next to Lydia's torso. He rested his right hand on her stomach and rubbed the fabric of her shirt with his thumb. "I overheard those brothers you brought with you making up stories about your scars because you're wearing tanks so much." Kaz reported as his lips curled into a small smile.

"Oh really?" Lydia raised an eyebrow.

"You're just itching to know what they were saying, huh?" Kaz pushed her curiosity button.

"You bet I am. I like those stupid stories." Lydia cracked a chuckle.

"It's odd seeing you walk around base in something other than a short-sleeve. You're comfortable showing your scars like that?"

"You don't have to be concerned." Lydia brought her right hand to her neck. "It's been so long I don't really notice them anymore. Other than some tingling every now and then. They're a part of me forever and it's so fucking hot."

"Hey that's no language for a lady."

"Kiss my ass." Lydia punched his arm. "What were they saying?"

"Well one of them said you were attacked by a shark. _That_ seems to be a popular rumor, and the other ones suspect you were burned in some explosion."

"I guess getting attacked by a shark is pretty close if we compare _him_ to an animal." Lydia rolled her eyes. There was a small term of awkward silence as Kaz stared at her. What was she supposed to say next? "So…uhhh…you get any headaches today?"

"Not yet. I haven't taken my glasses off today."

"Well _that's_ good." Lydia tucked in her lips as she thought of something else to talk about.

"Lydia…there's something I want to ask you." Kaz spoke up.

"What is it?"

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked slowly. "About what happened with you?" Lydia wasn't surprised. He was going to ask that question eventually.

"Well…truth is I shouldn't even be here." Lydia placed her left hand on top of Kaz's hand that was resting on her stomach. "I should've died." She pressed down on his hand - wanting to feel something there. A bump, a kick, a crawl, something that showed life. "Kaz…you remember when I told you that I had something to tell you on my birthday?" She curled her fingers around his hand. His features remained straight. Concentrated.

"Yeah, I remember." He continued for her to go on.

"I…" She gulped and could feel herself hold back tears. "I was g-going to ask if you were ready to start a family? Maybe…leave MSF all behind and build a life together?" _Dammit._ She couldn't bring herself to say it. The pain was too much.

"I wish I could answer that for you." Kaz responded. "Lydia, there's never a right time to build a family. I don't know how I would've answered that question…hell I don't know the answer now."

"Right." Lydia's eyes stung with cold tears she wouldn't dare let out. "I was lost at sea for a couple of days. I had a lot of time to think. I'm sorry." Kaz was silent. "I was rescued by one of Cypher's agents and hospitalized in Jamaica. I lived there for a while until I met those brothers. That's what happened."

"Cipher got to you, huh? Seems like their reach is longer than what I expected." Kaz shifted his body and positioned himself against her side. He laid there beside her as she stared at the ceiling. As he rested there, close, Lydia never felt farther away from him. She was scared to tell him about the child. Lydia shut her eyes and felt his breath on her skin. More hurt and pain would take over his life…another reason to send him over the edge. She could tell he was already teetering on keeping it together. One more piece of news about MSF and he would be plummeting off the edge.

Lydia will carry this pain alone. She will bury the secret and have it eat her alive until it forces itself out. There are things better left unsaid.

* * *

 **A/N: Before you read the next chapter, I triple-dog-dare you to solve that puzzle.**


	56. Chapter 56

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS franchise.**

 **Author's Note: Here's Chapter 2/2 for the day! :) See you next time, audience! I had to go into the roots of the story and I forgot how enjoyable (and sad) that pre MGS3 arc was! I wish these were simple times for our poor Lydia, but alas. We are getting closer to the REUNION OF THE CENTURY.**

* * *

 **"You went to school to learn, girl,**

 **Things you never, never knew before.**

 **Like 'I before E, except after C".**

 **And why two plus two makes four,**

 **Now now now, I'm gonna teach you…**

 **Sit yourself down, take a seat.**

 **All you gotta do is repeat after me.**

 **A,B,C.**

 **It's easy as 1, 2, 3.**

 **Or Simple as Do-Re-Mi"**

 **-The Jackson 5**

* * *

 **July 10, 1975: 14:00**

Lydia sat outside at one of the many tables under the hot afternoon sun beating on her back. With her brain cells screaming at her to stop, Lydia pushed on attempting to crack the code. A part of her felt like she was overthinking it and the other half was thinking it was just as complex as it looked. There were scribbles littered all around the page as she tried to make sense of it all. She had poured every ounce of free time she had for the past two months into this damn puzzle!

It had been a couple of months since she arrived back in Kaz's company. Diamond Dogs continued to stay on the middle ground as they trained all types of Rhodesian clients. In a way, it reminded Lydia of the days back in Colombia before they had "won" Kazuhira to their side. The atmosphere around the small base was almost nostalgic. Kaz was away from base more often. His mindset is that if he makes a "personal appearance", then the investing party knows he means business. Kazuhira would be gone a couple days or weeks at a time training these investors. Of course, he wouldn't go alone. Kazuhira assigned a small squad of the most elite men on the team to assist him in any mission.

Lydia on the other-hand, was stuck at the base attempting to figure out the location of Snake when she wasn't assisting with CQC scrimmages or target-practice with the remaining men. Soldiers came and went as they learned from the group. Diamond Dogs was nearing 20 members in total and climbing slowly. Half of which Kaz had appointed as his _squad_ …

Kaz took a turn towards something Lydia found comical. Something about the "Miller Brigade" reminded her too much of the old red berets with the hot, insulated, black and red outfits. Those men were loyal to Kaz just as the Ocelots were loyal to their "Major".

"Ocelot…" The name fell from her lips. "Wait…" Lydia lowered her face to the notepad and squinted as if she saw something she didn't see before. "Names of people that are connected with someone that Boss knew ten years longer than Kaz?" Lydia scratched her scalp with the eraser side of the pencil she was holding. It couldn't be _him_ , could it? No. No! It couldn't be. If _he_ was in on this, he would have made contact with her by now…right? He would have sent some type of communication back when she was in Colombia when this whole thing started - RIGHT?!

Lydia shook her head side to side. _These names Zero gave to Kaz could lead me to ANYONE. Stop making assumptions and crack the damn code, Lydia!_ She slapped the palm of her hands against her cheeks.

"Something the matter, Sub-C?" Lydia looked behind her to catch Rocco approaching.

"Yeah, my number deciphering skills aren't what they used to be." Lydia sighed with a playful smile across her lips. "I've been trying to crack this code for a while and I'm just coming up with nada."

Rocco comfortably sat next to her. "Mind if I take a look?"

"Have at it." Lydia nonchalantly handed the book over to Rocco…who instantly looked derailed the moment his sights landed on the numbers.

"Ok, ok. I fold. Haha." Almost instantly, Rocco handed the book back to Lydia with a dumb look on his face. His eyebrows were scrunched together and lips were tucked in like as if he was ashamed of himself. Lydia only sighed in defeat.

"These numbers are the only clue to find our boss." Lydia admitted sadly. "I almost feel sick to my stomach thinking about how much is riding on me to figure this out."

"Well, Sub-C, there's no use in dwelling on it. You'll find it out when you find it out." Rocco pat her on the back. She was suddenly sent into a whirlwind of dizziness the moment his hand ricochet from her back. She must have looked either star-struck or dazed enough to have Rocco wave his hand in front of her face to get a reaction. "Hello?" He questioned. His voice echoed in her mind, bouncing back and forth in the walls of her skull. There it was. The taste of bile filled Lydia's mouth as she instantly jerked away from Rocco and spilled her guts all on the grassy surface beneath her.

It wasn't a lot, but the pain in her stomach was familiar. Her eyes instantly grew dark as her heart began to beat faster. "No." She whispered as she wiped her mouth with her forearm.

"Crap! Uhh!" Poor Rocco didn't know what to do except look at her with confusion. "Should I get our med lead?" Lydia remained silent as she stared at part of her unprocessed lunch on the ground.

"Yeah." Lydia responded without emotion or urgency. She stood up from her seating position and held the notebook tight in her hand. "Tell them to bring a blood kit. And have someone clean that up?" One foot fell in front of the other as she made her way to her tent. Instantly, she tossed the notebook next to her side of the cot and brought both her hands to her stomach. Closing her eyes, she could easily mistake the sound of the rustling trees of the forested area as the ocean waves. Crashing against one another. Hiding the dark depths beneath and filling the world with cold illusions. The ocean filled with blood; shining eyes reflected off the moonlight and fire as it burned bright in the night.

"Ma'am?" Lydia opened her eyes and turned her attention to the entry of the tent. The medical lead, Soaring Raptor, was at her service. He was an older man, probably in his mid-thirties. He had deep wrinkled on his forehead and graying brown hair. In hand, he carried a small, white tin box. "You asked for a blood test?"

Lydia deviated her gaze for only a moment until she gathered the strength to speak up. "Yes. I need this to stay confidential when I ask you that you need to test it for the hCG hormone." She confessed.

"Oh!" Soaring Raptor smiled. "Well, you can trust me. I don't tell anyone anything…especially about my patients!"

"Good, then we shouldn't have a problem."

"I don't have the proper materials to detect that specific hormone because of...you know...the lack of women...so I'd have to run to the nearest hospital to get it. If you'll allow me to set out right now, I can go get it so your blood won't turn bad."

"You're the expert. You go ahead." Lydia nodded. "And take someone with you."

"Yes ma'am! I'll head out now." He nodded and exited the tent. Lydia sluggishly walked to the cot and gently sat down on the cushion.

"Fuck." She whispered to herself. "That's what you fucking get, Lydia." She smacked the palm of her right hand against the cot beneath her. Wanting to lash out on something, her eyes fell on the notebook resting close by. "Ugh." She groaned to herself. "Better keep myself preoccupied in the mean time. God dammit." She grasped onto the notebook and stared at it…attempting to find something new.

"Someone who's known Boss ten years longer than Kaz…not anyone in Langley…fuck me." She wanted to throw the book down. "Alright…think back to your college days." Lydia inhaled deeply. She readied a pen she had tucked away in one of her cargo pant pockets.

"Start from the beginning like you always do." She thought back to Operation Snake Eater…all those years ago. When she intercepted the radio call that was going to bring Snake's demise and ended up saving his ass. What did she start out with? She had to start out with the basics. She couldn't look on a typewriter and key in the information that easy. No…but it might be as easy as ABC. That's it...ABC. She ripped out the page that was attached to the reams below the puzzle and placed it on her lap.

Across the paper…she wrote the english alphabet as she hummed the catchy tune in her head. "Ok…" Lydia mumbled to herself. If each of these series of numbers is a name…then each number must belong to a letter. Maybe Zero made it this way because he knew she might reunite with Kaz at some point? He was one sneaky bastard…

Under each letter, she wrote a corresponding number. A=1, B=2, C=3, so on an so forth until Z=26. There were multiple combinations as to how these letters could represent one another and translate. _Let's focus on the first line._ Lydia thought.

"13118315. 31.6289|14,65.7372|5"

She scratched her head. _Alright…I guess we start with one._ If 1 was equivalent to "A" and the maximum numbers assigned to each letter was two then the name could either start with an "A" or an "M" which is assigned to the number "13". Looking at the second pair of numbers, 31, was impossible since there is obviously not 31 letters in the alphabet…and rarely do names start with "Ac".

Lydia drew two lines to separate 13 from the rest and wrote "M" beneath to classify the number. Next up was either 1 (A) or 11 (K). Going with the letter that made the most sense, Lydia separated the single "1" digit and wrote in "A" beneath it. _Alright…we're getting somewhere._ Lydia grinned to herself; _almost_ forgetting about the inevitable blood test.

The next two digits could either be 1 (A) or 18 (R). She wrote both possibilities under the corresponding numbers and stacked them so she wouldn't get confused at the place-holder. After that…it was 8 (H) or 3 (C). After that, the last two digits were either 1 (A) again or 15 (O).

"13(M)1(A)18(R)3(C)15(O). 31.6289|14,65.7372|5"

"Marco?" Lydia questioned to herself as she narrowed down the letters. "Marco…" She repeated again. "Who the hell…?"

* * *

 _"_ _OWWWW IT HURTS! LET ME GO!"_

 _"_ _Shut up." Lydia calmly ordered, letting go of his balls and quickly moving her left hand around his throat - barely beginning to asphyxiate him. She brought the knife down to his jugular. "How do I get out?"_

 _"_ _It's impossible." He cracked. He was obviously still hurting from down under judging from the soppy tears in his eyes._

 _"_ _Yeah right asshole. Tell me how." She changed the grip of the knife in her hand and pointed the tip at his left eye. "If you don't tell me how to get out of this fucking place in five seconds, this knife is going to go straight through your eye and into your brain." She inched the knife closer to his eye. His tears turned into waterfalls as the flowed down his cheeks and onto the ground._

 _"_ _F-F-Fine! I'll tell you, I'll tell you please just don't kill me!"_

* * *

 _"_ _Oh hey, I've been looking for you, Marco." Lydia jumped with surprise as a young voice sounded off from behind her. "The Major wants to speak with you."_

 _She brought her hand to her covered mouth and coughed a few times to get a voice resembling that of the man she knocked out. "What for?"_

 _"_ _Didn't ask. Hey are you ok? You sound like you have a cold?"_

 _"_ _Yeah." She coughed twice for effect. "You could say that."_

* * *

 _"_ _One of your soldiers came into the hall and saw what I was doing. Naturally, he panicked - which led me to knock out the guys I was on top of and grab a knife out of the man's pocket. I threw it into your squad member's leg, obviously making him unable to stand up properly. I choked that guy out until he was unconscious and took his clothes and locked him in the random-ass janitor closet conveniently placed on the other end of the hall-way." Straight-faced and all, Lydia exhaled at her long explanation. "And now, after being mistaken as the soldier, Marco, I'm here sitting in front of you. And to be frank, I feel like I'm the biggest pickle in a full pickle jar."_

 _"_ _Oh, and you would be right Miss Marco."_

* * *

 _"_ _W-w-wait! It's not what you think! The Major will explain everything!" She held up both of her hands, signaling her surrender. "Just let me in the office."_

 _"_ _N-no! You STUFFED me in a CLOSET you BITCH."_

* * *

Lydia dully squinted her eyes at name that triggered some amusing memories. "Marco…huh. Zero wouldn't give a name without a location. If those are latitude and longitude coordinates…" Her sentence drifted off as she stood up from the cot with the notebook still in hand. With haste, she walked out of the tent and into the small area they assigned for intel gathering. It took a couple of minutes to find a map and lay it out in front of her. _14 is "N"…so that must translate to 31.6289 North and 65.7372 East…if E is 5._ She traced her finger along the latitude and longitude until she pointed to… "Kandahar? Afghanistan? Why the hell would he be in Afghanistan?" She questioned out loud.

 _These people apparently know someone who will lead us to the boss…and it's THAT person who knew him for ten years longer than Kaz… I assumed that Ocelot killed Marco after he had shot me…could this really all bundle down to him?_ Reuniting with her long-lost _friend_ , if that's what she would even label him as, was something she didn't think was a reality until she read that first name.

After decoding the rest using the same algorithm, the nailed down the names and locations that were provided.

"Marco. 31.6289 North, 65.7372 East. Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Hektor. 55.3387, 92.5396. Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia.

Khan. 36.6100, 67.3301. Dihdadhi, Afghanistan. "

Lydia's hand trembled on the last name. Solving this solidified the assumption she had from the beginning. L=12, Y=25, D=4, I=9, A=1. The location given was on Portmore, Jamaica where she was taken in by Jonathan. _Adam._ The name swam in her head like a gathering of fish that rotated over and over again. If Zero wasn't lying and if she's supposed to know this person…it _has_ to be him. He's known Snake since 1964…ten years longer than Kaz.

 _Zero…is this a game to you?_ Lydia bit her bottom lip. _Bringing us back together like this?_ _I guess all I have to do now is track him down._

With a mix of emotions, Lydia returned to her tent and set the notepad down. She retired to the cot and stared at the ceiling of the tent. "I can't believe this shit." She laughed. "After all this time." She failed to recognize the reason why silent tears streamed from her eyes. They numbed her cheeks as she let them fall. Was it relief to know he was alive? Or was it excitement that she was able to see him one more time.


	57. Chapter 57

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise!**

 **Author's Note: Welcome back! :) Thank you to everyone who reviewed/favorited/followed! There's a LOT of things happening in this chapter, but I needed to get them out of the way. Hope you enjoy this new chapter :)**

 **Guest K:** Dude we were in the same boat #ugh. And don't play survive, it's a waste of money and time! lmao xD

 **Guest1 (55 &56): **I think this is the same person! lol Kaz still has a pinch fluff left in him but he's totally getting to hell master miller REAL quick. I can't wait for you to read the reunion! It'll be greaaaaaaaaaaaaat! I'm telling you! The MGSV arc is going to have a LOT of content and a lot of chapters. Hopefully you enjoy it!

 **Guest2 (56):** Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaas wild cats!

 **Captain Mc:** MAYBEEEEEEEEEEEEE *squeals in harmony*

 ****Mature Content Warning: Violence, blood, sexual themes.**

* * *

 **"Make up your mind which way to go about it.**

 **Choose your road, just don't doubt it.**

 **So come, take me by the hand, we'll leave this troubled land.**

 **I know we can."**

 **-Earth Wind and Fire**

* * *

 **July 7, 1975: 15:00**

The Medical Lead had finally returned from his journey inland. As Soaring Raptor took her blood Lydia attempted to keep her nerves as calm as possible. Kaz would be back any day now. If she _was_ pregnant…she wasn't going to keep it a secret this time. S. Raptor capped off the vial filled with the crimson liquid and placed it inside the metal tin she saw with him the other day. "I'm not sure how long this is going to take…but once I find out, I'll let you know."

"Thank you." Lydia nodded her head in acknowledgement. She needed to get her mind off of it. Somehow. She needed to focus on finding Ocelot. That was her first priority. Huey was second. Throw a baby into the mix and there's a whole other mess on their hands. Those priorities would shift dramatically.

Although she had her assumptions, Lydia needed to keep an open mind about Ocelot being the actual target. She decided to leave Kaz out of the contact's identity it until it was necessary. No telling where in the world Ocelot was or even if he would cooperate without force. How would Kaz react if he knew she was on the list? Her eyes fell on her own name. She tapped the eraser of her pencil against her right cheek. _Since I already know who I am, there's no harm in taking me off the list, right?_ Lydia placed the butt of the pencil on the paper and started to erase her name and location.

If Kaz wanted to find Snake as soon as possible, then why waste time? Regardless of the pending news from S. Raptor, she would soon leave to find Marco in Afghanistan. With a sigh, Lydia walked out of the tent and emerged into the camp. Toward the north entrance of the strong-hold, she could hear some type of commotion. "I said stop!"

"Put your hands in the air!"

"Don't come any closer!"

Lydia jogged to the entrance. There were two watch-towers on either side of the gate. Both of the men were armed and pointing their weapons at someone. Lydia approached the ladder that led to the north-eastern tower and began to climb up. While ascending, Lydia announced her presence so the soldier wouldn't freak out. Once at the top, she stood next to the guard and peered out beyond the wall.

Approaching the camp was a man with an assault rifle in hand. He had his face covered in black and green paint, his hair was dark brown and shaggy. On top of the heavy combat vest he wore was dynamite. No matter how much they told him to stop, the man did not.

"Why is he dressed for combat?" Lydia asked herself quietly. She looked around, the rest of the camp was quiet. Her eyes returned to the man who was closing the proximity between himself and the gate. "Stop now!" Lydia ordered out. "If you don't stop, we'll shoot!"

Nothing. Suddenly, he stopped. The man cackled and looked up at Lydia from afar. "YOU THINK YOU CAN STOP ME?! YOU'RE DONE, YOU DOGS!"

"Shoot him." Lydia ordered the man next to her. "If you shoot him now, we'll be out of the blast radius." The enemy lunged forward with malice intent. As soon as he took off, the soldier shot his vest with his rifle. Instantaneously, there were bullets suddenly flying at them from the woods.

"Christ!" The soldier yelped and dragged Lydia down for cover.

"I'll get the alarm!" Lydia shouted. Hearing bullets whiz over her head as she made her way down the ladder was not the morning she was looking for. "We're under attack!" Lydia shouted as she ran to a small alarm box on the other side of the base.

The soldiers at each guard-tower were firing at large. At least everyone was safe in the camp. "AHHHHHHH!" The cry of a troop being cut down in one of his tents echoed out. So she _thought_ everyone was safe. Lydia bolted toward the tent only to see a large, muscular man exit. He was wearing a black tank-top on top of his pale skin. Half of his face was splattered with the blood of the man's life he just took. His eyes were filled with rage.

"Hey there, big guy." Lydia smirked.

"Hey there, little lady." He punched his right fist into his left palm and grinned. Lydia slid her right foot back and stood in a defensive stance. It had been some time she had fought someone of that stature. Right away, the brute dug in his right pant pocket and pulled out a pistol. His reflexes weren't very fast. As he aimed at her and pulled the trigger, Lydia ducked down and rolled to her left to close the gap between them. She took her own pistol out of it's holster and shot the man in the chest. Instantly, he fell to the earth.

"Here I thought I was gonna have a good fist-fight." Next, Lydia made her way to the armory. As she was jogging, an unknown barreled into her. He was trying to grapple her until a gunshot rang out. The warm splash of blood covered part of her face as the man fell to the ground.

"I got you!" A fellow Diamond Dog called out to her.

"Thanks!" Lydia smeared the blood on her face with her right hand and proceeded into the armory. She grasped onto the first rifle she saw and headed back out. The men were organized now and covering each entrance. It seems they were surrounded…but they were holding their own. Within ten minutes, the firing had ceased and the small battle came to a close.

Only two troops had died at the hands of the large man that got into the camp. There was a small cremation funeral outside the base. As for the enemies, the Diamond Dogs gathered them up and burnt them with no honor. None of the men that had attacked were wearing any type of faction patch or belonged to any group. It was a mystery as to why they had made their move.

Word that Diamond Dogs being a mercenary group was spreading - which could be the reason as to why they had been targeted. Someone who didn't like their views, an old group Kaz might have trained, who knows? Hours had passed; things went back to normal around the camp.

Lydia found herself sitting inside the intel tent marking on a map where she needed to look for Marco, Hektor, and Khan. Kandahar, Krasnoyarsk Krai, and Dihdadi. They might have moved since then, but it's still a good place to start.

"Sub-C?" Someone called out from the tent entry. She lifted up her head to see that S. Raptor had entered. "Since you're the only one in here, are you alright if I meet with you now about your test?"

"Yeah." Lydia smiled weakly. She had nearly forgotten about the blood test from earlier in the day. "So what's the news, doc?" The words were forced out.

"Well, as you predicted, the hormone was very high. You're pregnant." Three syllables she didn't want to hear for a while. Her right hand floated to her stomach. She felt sick.

"T-Thank you." She made eye contact with the doctor. "You can leave." He simply nodded and dismissed himself from the tent. She balled up her fist and slammed it on the table she was sitting at. Her hand throbbed with heat as tears welled up in her eyes. "God dammit."

"Everything ok?" A familiar voice came from the tent's entrance. When Lydia looked up, her eyes met with Kaz's sunglasses.

"Perfect timing." She choked out.

"Why are you crying?" Kaz frowned as he made his way over to her. He pulled up another chair and placed it next to his wife. "Did you miss me that much?" He chuckled as he placed his hand on her back. "I heard about the attack earlier today. I understand if you fee-"

"It's not about that." Lydia wiped away some of her tears.

"Then what is it?" The butterflies that were in Lydia's stomach ran out of room to fly and started to gnaw at her insides. Her heart began to race the longer she paused.

"I…" Lydia inhaled deeply and shut her eyes. "I'm pregnant." She opened her eyes then examined at Kaz's expression. He was a blank slate. She could tell his teeth were grinding against each other. His lips were shut tight as the cogs in his head started to turn.

Kaz retracted his hand from her back and stood up from the chair. Lydia watched him carefully as he ran his hands through his golden hair. "How long?"

"Not sure." Lydia replied. "I'm guessing a month or so."

"It's still early." Kaz spoke slowly. "Good."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Lydia asked.

"We can take you to a doctor." Kaz mentioned. "I-I don't want a kid. But I understand if you want to have it."

"If you didn't want a kid you should have thought harder about not fucking me, right?"

"I've lost so much." Kaz stood still. "I can't lose something like that. Better take care of it now before it has a conscience."

Lydia bit her bottom lip and gazed back to the map on top of the table. "I'll leave." Lydia suggested. "Kaz, I cracked the code. I can leave and pursue these men. While I'm gone, that will give you time alone to think about what you want." She looked back at him. "I'm keeping it. But it's your decision if you want me around."

Kaz signed with frustration. "Of course I want you around, Lydia. You're my _wife_." He paused. "But you're right. I do need some time to think about it. We can send our recon out to those places before sending _you_ to get the targets. That way, you won't waste your time if they aren't there. It'll keep you away from unnecessary risks."

Lydia found herself smiling the more he talked. "Alright."

"You need to take responsibility and take care of yourself in the mean-time. I'll figure out what to do." Kaz signed again. "Why don't you pack up and come to bed with me, huh?" Lydia nodded and started to organize the papers.

"I'll brief the recon unit tomorrow on this." Lydia mentioned. "Hopefully these guys can be easily found."

"You're telling me. Thanks to you, we're one step closer to finding Boss. Lydia?"

"Hmm?"

"Whatever my decision is, just know that I love you, ok?"

* * *

 **September 20, 1975: 06:00**

Lydia found herself hurling in the middle of the forest on her routine morning walk. The past few weeks, her belly had gotten larger. It looked like she had gained a little bit of weight; she got more stares from the men on base. Most of them probably wondered if she had just let herself go. "There goes my breakfast." She spat out then wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "I don't like this mom, get it out." She mimicked the baby. "Who the hell doesn't like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches? No kid of mine, that's for sure." Lydia sighed.

Lydia continued to walk and eventually got back to the base. Outside the gate, Kaz was readying some supplies into a jeep. "Kaz?" Lydia called out. He raised his head and stared at her. She closed the distance between them. "What are you doing?"

"Well…I figure I need to take you to the doctor, right?" He scratched the back of his head. "I packed a couple of days clothing for us."

"You're taking me to a doctor?"

"I mean…it's ok to be curious…right?" Lydia smiled.

"What?" Kaz raised an eyebrow. "Why are you looking at me like that?" She leaned into him and kissed him quickly on the lips.

"I just love you, that's all."

"That's _all_?" Kaz wrapped his hands around both her arms and smiled. "Your breath smells like a puppy's by the way." Lydia blushed in embarrassment.

"What?!" She broke away from him and covered her mouth.

"It smells like that after your throw up." Kaz chuckled. He turned around and dug into one of the bags. "Here." He handed Lydia her toothbrush. "Go take care of that and we'll leave."

Lydia snatched her toothbrush from him and rolled her eyes. "Fine." She walked into the base and took care of her business. On her way out, some of the men bid her farewell and told her to 'have a nice trip'. She crawled into the passenger side of the jeep and looked at Kaz who had turned over the engine. "Kaz? Who did you leave in charge?"

"The department leads, of course." Kaz answered. "We don't have any other jobs right now, so it should be easy for them. I let them know we were going to be gone for a couple of days max."

"If you say so." Lydia answered.

Kaz drove off. It was a couple of hours until they reached the closest town. Another couple hours on top of that before they got to a main city with a hospital and a hotel. Kaz payed cash for the room and unloaded their belongings before heading to the hospital. When they arrived at the facility, it was booming with all kinds of business. Sick people were littered all around the waiting area. Kaz checked in Lydia and they sat patiently for a nurse to come out and get them.

About an hour and a half into waiting, a nurse finally called the both of them back. They were taken into a small room with an ultrasound. "I'm going to need you to change into this." The woman handed her a hospital gown. "Top comes off. Pants stay on."

"Or pants off?" Kaz butted in and winked at Lydia.

"Pants. Stay. On." The nurse narrowed her eyes at Kaz, who nervously chucked in response. As the nurse walked out of the room to give them some privacy, Lydia laughed out loud.

"She didn't appreciate your joke, Kaz."

Kaz sucked in some air. "Yikes." He watched Lydia undress carefully. His eyes lingered on her as she slid her top over her head. "Lydia." Her name fell from his lips easily and breathlessly. Lydia was about to put on the hospital gown before his voice stopped her from doing so.

"Yeah?" She asked. He walked toward her and nonchalantly placed his hands on her breasts. He massaged them as they were confined under her bra. Lydia's face fell into an amused expression.

"Your breasts have grown."

"Ummmm, yep." She responded, feeling a bit awkward being inside a hospital. "That's what happens when you get pregnant."

"Wow." He stepped away from her and sized her up as he brought his right hand to his chin.

"Oh my gosh." Lydia rolled her eyes and laughed.

"And they jiggle even more when you giggle."

"Kaz, quit it." She slipped the gown over her head.

"I would love to see how your breasts feel around my di-"

"Hello! I'm Dr. Wright!" A foreign voice chimed in. A tall, skinny, black male entered the room with a smile plastered onto his face. He was wearing light blue scrubs and carrying a box of latex gloves. Kaz's eyebrow twitched at the interruption. "I hear we are pregnant, yes?!"

The doctor's enthusiasm was almost too much to handle. "At least I would like to think so." Lydia laughed and sat on the hospital bed.

"Let us get this ultrasound powered on and take look!" As he fiddled with the machine while the doctor multi-tasked with talking. "First baby, yes?"

"Yes." Lydia said almost too dull.

"Is this papa?" He nodded his head to Kaz.

"Yessir."

"This machine'll tell us the health of the child, right?" Kaz questioned.

"You got that right. We'll listen to it's heart-beat…and we might be able to tell the gender. From the looks of it Mrs. Miller, you could be a little farther along than what you were expecting."

"What? Really?" Lydia nervously chuckled.

"That's nerve-wracking." Kaz pulled a chair up to sit directly next to Lydia. Once the machine finally powered on, the doctor ordered Lydia to pull up the gown just under her breasts. As he spread around the cool protectant gel on her stomach, her heartbeat started to escalate.

"Here we go." The doc pulled out the hand-held scanner and placed it on top of her belly. The screen projected the live images. He searched around and almost instantly found the child. It's as if Kaz and Lydia stopped breathing simultaneously. The baby was balled up…it was certainly larger than what she was expecting. "Oh would you look at that, it's sucking it's thumb!"

"Oh wow." Lydia's eyes were glued to the monitor.

"Judging by it's size and actions, it looks like you're a little more than four months. When was the last time you had your period?"

"Oh gosh…around the end of April?"

"Baby was more than likely conceived in May." _Makes sense. Kaz couldn't take his hands off of me for part of that month._ "If anything, your baby should be expected around February twentieth. Based on your physical stature, this is a normal pregnancy appearance for you."

"Are you able to tell the gender?" Kaz butted in.

"Yes papa, give me a moment." He moved the scanner around and pointed to the monitor. "Looks like you're having a boy! Congratulations!"

"A boy?" Kaz squeezed Lydia's hand. She couldn't tell if it was excitement or nervousness in his voice…whatever he was feeling she was probably feeling as well.

"A little boy!" The doctor reiterated. "Development is going along fine. Baby's spine is strong and so is the blood-flow and heart-beat. I don't see any deformities or anything to note. You have one happy, healthy baby!"

"Wow, thank you." Lydia gulped as she stared at the screen. The doc took a snap-shot of the baby.

"I'm going to import this data and be back with a picture." The doctor cleaned up the gel on Lydia's stomach and wheeled the ultra-sound out.

"I can't believe you're that far along already. And I can't believe it's a boy. I can't believe any of this." Lydia looked over to Kaz, finally. He had taken off his sunglasses. The white of his eyes were slightly blood-shot, as if he were holding back some tears.

"I can't believe it either. Are you ok?" Lydia asked.

"Just nervous. I never thought I would be doing something like this."

"Hell, me either." Lydia smiled.

"I'm going to be a dad." Kaz grasped her hand with both of his hands and brought it up to his forehead. "Of all the things we lost we have this one blessing."

"Hello! I'm back!" Dr. Wright walked back into the room with discharge papers and a photo in hand. He handed the photo to Kaz and the rest of the papers to Lydia. "I just need you to sign those papers and you're on your way!"

"Thank you, doc." Lydia nodded. She took a pen that was conveniently placed next to her bed and signed the discharge papers. The doc took back the stack of papers and congratulated them one more time before walking out. Kaz stuffed the photo of the ultrasound in his breast pocket before helping Lydia out of the bed. She changed back into her normal clothes before the both of them returned to the hotel they rented for the night.

It was sundown when they had arrived. "If you stay here, I'll go get us something to eat. I'm starving."

"Same." Lydia agreed. "I'll be here." Kaz exited the room and shut the door behind him. Lydia sprawled out on the queen-sized bed. Much more comfortable than that damn cot back at base. The feeling was surreal. Almost as if it were all a dream. To make sure, Lydia pinched her right cheek with her right hand. "Nope, not a dream." Her left hand floated to her belly. "I can't wait to meet you."

* * *

 **December 25, 1975: 19:00**

It was Christmas, but everyone was still hard at work. The men who Kaz sent out to gather intel on the men from the code were still gathering information. Lydia was anxiously waiting for any word that they had to report back. So far…no leads.

Lydia was coming up on seven months. The soldiers around base were always bringing her some type of food and making sure she was well hydrated throughout the day. Although she couldn't do much at this time in her pregnancy, she still helped out with shooting lessons and practice. For her Christmas present, she was gifted with diapers and plain baby boy clothes. The soldiers said they bought it with their own money, but Kaz saw an impact in their accounting records and scolded them for using GMP for something like that.

"Lydia…?" Kaz and Lydia were finally alone in their tent. "I'm not able to get you anything this year because I'm saving our GMP for a new base."

"That's ok." Lydia chuckled as she sat on the cot. "Just being with you is good enough. I _did_ get _you_ something tho."

"You did?" He raised an eyebrow and took off his glasses.

"I'm letting you name him."

"You serious?" Kaz beamed.

"I'm serious." Lydia smiled. "I was doing some thinking and I think he should be named after you. But I don't know any Japanese names or which one would be a good fit."

"Named after me?" Kaz shook his head. "I'm not that great."

"You are to me…and you will be to him." Lydia smiled. "Pick a name that's like yours."

"If you say so." Kaz scratched the top of his head. "Kazuo?"

"That was fast." Lydia chuckled light-heartedly.

"You weren't the only one doing some thinking." Kaz sat next to her. "Kazuo." He repeated.

"Kazuo." Lydia placed her right hand on her stomach. "That's a fine name."

"Kazuo Miller."

* * *

 **February 24, 1976: 03:00**

As time passed, there were still no leads on the handful of men that would lead them to Zero's contact. Kaz was becoming impatient and sent out more intel members to help out. Boss was safe, but he would be even safer if Diamond Dogs knew where he was.

Things in Rhodesia were calming down for the most part. Diamond Dogs was picking up popularity in Colombia and Costa Rica again for drug busts and escort missions. Lydia complained when there would be a drug bust…those were her favorites. Cash-flow was getting greater with the new year. Kaz was able to purchase a helicopter and a couple of more jeeps and store them near the base. He recruited more individuals with experience which boosted morale and productivity. If only Hektor, Khan, and Marco were easier to find then life would be easy.

Lydia rolled around on the cot uncomfortably. She felt restless; she could sense that her tossing and turning was getting on Kaz's nerves. He loudly grunted every time she would make a movement. She suddenly felt a pinching sensation in her belly. "Ow." She whispered at the annoying feeling. Kazuo was an active baby, but had never caused any pain like that! Soon followed a massive cramp that felt like her stomach was caving in on itself. "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh gosh." Lydia sat up and held onto her stomach.

Tired, Kaz rolled over. "Everything ok?"

"Ohhhhhhhh no." She rocked back and forth as another wave of pain radiated through her. Below her, she felt wet. "Ohhhhhhh my gosh."

"Are you?" Kaz probably felt the wetness and jolted up as fast as he could. "Did your water just break?!"

"I think so?!" Her face scrunched up in pain.

"Son of a bitch! I'll get the med lead. Stay right there." Kaz stumbled out of bed in just pants and ran out of the tent. Lydia sat there and focused on breathing.

 _Oh god, this thing has to come out of me._ Lydia dreaded the thought. _Oh man, what goes in must come out, I suppose!_ The contractions were constant and not even backing down. Within no time, Kaz, S. Raptor, and a couple of other medical staff walked into the tent. Each of them were carrying supplies, hot water, towels. The medical lead rushed to her side and placed a hand on her back. "Ma'am, I'm going to need you to bend forward. I have an epidural."

"Isn't that a big needle?" Lydia looked at S. Raptor as another contraction creeped up on her.

"Ehhh more or less." He readied the syringe that was going to be crammed into her back.

"Oh no, no, no." Lydia looked at Kaz.

"It's ok. He's delivered babies before, he knows where to put it. It won't even hurt."

"-Much." S. Raptor added.

"Jesus that's not helping." Lydia shut her eyes tight as she felt the needle penetrate into her spine. "OW." He started flowing the pain-killer into her body.

"You're going to start feeling numb at the point of injection and down in a couple of minutes." The needle was finally removed and the puncture was patched up. S. Raptor gently set her down flat on the cot. "We need to get these pants off."

"Go it." Kaz butted in and removed her pants, after all, it's what he did best. Everything was happening so fast!

"Miller, I need you to focus on your breathing. Look at this, you're already crowning!"

"Oh god!" Lydia held her eyes shut.

"On the count of three, I need you to push. Remember to focus on your breathing." Kaz was holding onto Lydia's hand as she pushed on command. It took nearly twenty minutes for the baby to come out. Lydia didn't even want to sit up and look. Kaz, mesmerized, dropped Lydia's hand and crawled over to the medical entourage.

It was the cry that filled her ears, next. "Miller go ahead and cut the cord." Exhausted, Lydia lolled her head to the side and stared at Kaz's back. He was blocking the view. The baby had stopped wailing as the other doctor worked to clean him. There was an assistant attending to her and cleaning up blood and other fluids.

"I never want to do that again." Lydia voiced out.

After another fifteen minutes or so, the boy was passed to Kaz to hold. He was wrapped up in a white blanket. "Lydia, this is one handsome little boy." Kaz sat down next to her. She held out her arms. Kaz carefully passed him over. His little face was scrunched up and so cute. His eyes were closed but she bet he had the brightest blue eyes out there. On top of his small head was a small patch of blonde hair. He looked exactly like Kaz. So small and new.

"A human came out of me." Tears started to fall out of her eyes. "Hi, baby." She kissed him on the forehead.

"You did it." Kaz followed the same notion and kissed Lydia on top of her head. "Our little Kazuo."

"Our Kazuo."

* * *

 **A/N: Houston, we have a baby!**


	58. Chapter 58

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise!**

 **A/N: Glad you all enjoyed the last chapter! Thank you for all your reviews and love! :) There's a part in this story where the Kill Bill siren noise popped in my head! I hope you guys like Kazuo's presence in the story, he's going to be a big part of the MGSV arc! In any case, enjoy :3**

 **yesdudes:** omg I'm deceased lol x'D 10/10

 **Guest K:** I sure did! :) I had to throw a LITTLE bit of action in there lol xD I'm glad you enjoyed it!

 **Guest -M:** One of the only happy things left D: Glad you enjoyed the chapter! :3

 ****MATURE CONTENT WARNING: Violence and torture**

* * *

 **"Crazy, but that's how it goes.**

 **Millions of people living as foes...**

 **Mental wounds not healing,**

 **Life's a bitter shame.**

 **I'm going off the rails on a crazy train."**

 **-Ozzy Osbourne**

* * *

There's something that changes within someone when they become a parent. It's certainly indescribable. A child has a unconditional love for their parents. Watching them grow, play, learn…it was all something else. For her entire life, Lydia didn't think she was going to be a mother. She was in and out of foster homes and had two dysfunctional parents she could hardly remember…to say the least, she didn't have the _best_ examples. She didn't know what this new love would bring her, but it was certainly a distraction from the traumas of the past.

A _distraction_. Kazuhira Miller was incapable of forgiving and forgetting the past. After Kazuo was born, he said the child was just that…a distraction. When he held Kazuo, he seemed different. Like he had forced himself to be pulled out of a chaotic world. Kazuo was the lone blessing. The rest of the world was erased when he was around his son.

When Kaz was away from the boy, he turned into a whole other person. Kazuhira emerged himself back into the cruel world. He had become frustrated on the hold of information from the intel members that were sent to find the coded individuals. With so little to go on, it's no wonder the search wasn't as hasty as he thought.

The troops of Diamond Dogs were hard at work with finding the three men as their top priority. Surprisingly, having Kazuo around base boosted their morale. Kazuo had always been the most popular in the camp since the day he was born. Other than Lydia and Kaz, he had a giant family of brothers and sisters that were just shy of being obsessed with him. He was a fast learner and certainly a smarter kid that what Lydia and Kaz had imagined he would be.

Years had passed as they looked for the three needles in the large hay-stack. Things were quiet on the home-front but jobs were still incoming from all around the world. Kazuhira grew more frustrated with each passing day. Despite his frustration, he kept the growth of mother base one of his top priorities and had finally saved up enough GMP to purchase a new operations plant as a Forward Operating Base.

* * *

 **February 5, 1980: 12:00**

Diamond Dogs had finally made themselves comfortable on their new Forward Operating Base after purchasing it in January. The command platform was going under construction, but it was equipped enough to start living on. Kaz purchased the base from a mineral resource supplier that was located in the Seychelles. The company had went under and the government was happy to hand it over to him.

They had set up a few dummy construction units to renovate the half-finished rig. If anything, it started out as scrap on legs - it was definitely in worse shape than MSF's base. At least it wasn't carpeted with bird shit this time. From the outside, it just looked like the mineral project was up and running again. Kaz had created a Base Development team for construction and resourcing needs. They were certainly a big help with the reconstruction.

The moving process took a little over a month to move everything over to the base. It was Lydia's first day on the new platform, which felt all too familiar. She stood near the safety railing and stared out into the ocean. If this one were to go up in flames, there's no telling if any of them would survive this time. "Wow Mommy, look at all that water!" Kazuo's little voice snapped her out of her daze. He was a little too excited about the move. He held onto her hand and hopped up and down. "I have never seen so much water in my life!"

"That's because we're on the ocean." Lydia looked down at him. His blonde hair was short enough to keep out of his face. His light blue eyes were just like his father's. Hell, he even had his smile. Although she had birthed him, there was no trace of Lydia in that kid at all.

"Can I swim in it?" Lydia closed her eyes. She could see herself floating in the ocean on that small cargo box. Exhausted and surrounded by her own blood-

"Mommy?" Her son's voice fished her back to reality.

Lydia opened her eyes and kneeled down to get to Kazuo's height. "Now, if you go do that by yourself you'll probably get lost. And I would miss you a whole lot."

"Uh oh." Kazuo suddenly hugged Lydia around the neck. "I don't want to do that anymore." Lydia held her son tight then let him go.

"Good." Lydia's lips peeled back into a smile. "You want to go see your room?"

"MY ROOM?!" As Kazuo babbled something incoherently, Lydia laughed at his excitement.

"Yes! Daddy said you get your own room! How about that?"

"MOMMYI'MSOHAPPY!" Lydia picked him up under his armpits and lifted him up over her head and onto her shoulders.

"Good, kiddo! Let's go take a peek!"

The living quarters were located below deck this time, rather than on top. It was more convenient and spacious this way. The R&D squad filled out everything in the right places and added a few upgrades. Everything was automatic and required some type of key-card to enter a room. In case of some type of power outage, manual keys were issued. They descended a few flights of stairs until reaching their destination. The hall-way was long and somewhat narrow, as if she was walking the interior of a cruise ship.

Above each door was a light that indicated if the room was vacant or occupied. If it was lit up blue, there was at least one person in the assigned room was accounted for. If the light appeared red, then there is no one in the room and they are either off-base or somewhere else.

The closer they got to Kazuo's room, Lydia took him off her shoulders and placed him on the ground. Kazuo was counting the number of doors they had passed until they finally came to his. "Here we go, kiddo. Twenty-four!"

"Twenty-Four!" He repeated with glee as he jumped up and down. Lydia pulled out a master key-card from her right pant pocket and scanned the door open. "Here you go!" As the door opened, the light above switched to blue. In an instant, Kazuo bolted in and tried to jump on the heightened bed before failing miserably.

"Oof!" Comically, he slid off the side of the bed like a bird would if it hit glass. Lydia chuckled to herself and looked around the room, as well.

"You have a big room here, Kazuo. That means you're a big boy now!"

"I AM a big boy, Mommy!" He argued.

"Alright, alright. Whatever you say."

Across from the full-sized bed was a bathroom. Lydia hummed and walked into it. Right on the floor was what she was expecting. A two-step stool. "Hey Kazuo." Lydia called out to him. "You have your own little stool in here so you can reach everything."

With a shrieked laugh, Kazuo bolted past Lydia's legs and instantly grabbed onto the stool and carried it to the bed. Lydia watched the kid as he hastily crawled up the steps and jumped on the bed. "SO SOFT!" He called out, rolling on the mattress like a log.

"Better than sleeping on that small mattress with me and daddy, huh?"

"I'M ALL BY MYSELF!" He exclaimed. "LIKE A BIG BOY!"

"Yep, just like a big boy." Lydia smiled. She walked over to the bed and sat on the foot of it. "But you'll always be my baby." She reached over and ruffled his hair. He sat up straight and squinted his eyes shut and shot her a big toothy smile.

Within moments, the door beeped and slid open. Lydia and Kazuo turned their attention to see Kaz stand in the doorway. "Daddy!" Kazuo announced. "LOOK AT MY ROOM!"

"The base is 100% Kazuo-Approved." Lydia held a thumbs-up.

"Good. Now I won't have to buy a whole new base." Kaz shrugged with an eye-roll.

"If you ever need us, we're right across the hallway." Kaz pointed over his shoulder with his thumb.

"Cool!" Kazuo confirmed as he rolled around one more time on the bed. Lydia and Kaz shared the same look. A mix of love, exhaustion, and amusement.

"Commander Miller!" Lydia heard a sudden shout from down the hall. Lydia's eyes met Kaz's. He nodded his head for her to follow him out of the room.

"Kazuo, stay right here, ok?" Lydia ordered.

"Ok Mommy!" He was too preoccupied with the mattress to even care. Lydia stood up from the bed and followed Kaz outside of the room. Lydia gazed down the hall as the door shut behind her.

"Commanders!" A Diamond Dog, dressed in a black balaclava, was bolting toward them. "It'll still be a couple of hours before we get our communicators up and running, so I had to come find you!"

"What is it?" Kaz questioned. The soldier, who wore the name badge, Sneaking Armadillo, saluted then continued with his news.

"We found him. We found Marco from the list."

Lydia and Kaz quickly looked at one another and then back at the soldier.

"Are you sure?" Lydia asked in confirmation.

"Yeah, it's him alright." S. Armadillo held a thumbs-up. "He's in an air-base in Afghanistan. It was one of the ones that were over-run by those Soviets."

"Great." Lydia nodded then looked at Kaz. "Let me get my bearings and I'll head out."

"You sure you want to do this?" Kaz asked, with a hint of sincerity in his voice. "I could go if you-"

"I'll be fine, I promise." Lydia winked.

Kaz only sighed then turned his attention to S. Armadillo. "Thanks. Do you mind taking Kazuo to the mess hall?" He reached over and scanned open his son's door. "I'll come get him in a few hours."

"Y-Yessir!" The soldier saluted. "Kazuo, my little man!" S. Armadillo said all to ecstatically as he walked into Kazuo's room.

"LOOK AT MY ROOM!" Kazuo shouted as Lydia and Kaz opened their door across the hall. As she walked in, she stretched her arms over her head. The room resembled what they had on MSF's base. It had a plain queen-sized bed with a small bathroom connected on the opposite side of the room.

"Nice buy." Lydia looked around the room.

"All the rooms are equipped with a bathroom this time. No public-room nonsense."

"No saunas?" Lydia grinned. She examined Kaz's face for a reaction…but alas…his face was as dull as it was when they had walked into the room.

"None of that." Kaz rolled his eyes. "I had the men put our things in this closet." Kaz pointed to a one-door closet adjacent to the bed.

Lydia hummed in response and walked over to the room. She opened it and pulled out tan cargo pants with a black short-sleeve cotton shirt. In the back of the closet was a new tactical harness she had to get used to. The harness was secured around her chest and the belt loops of her pants to provide easy maneuvers. The front had a few utility pockets for convenient reach.

"Looks like the old days." Kaz said with solemn in his voice.

"The old days?" Lydia chuckled. "Come on, Kaz, I'm on thirty-three."

"That's not what I meant." Kaz weakly smiled. "Cipher is everywhere, Lydia. You need to be careful of the enemy."

"I know." Lydia responded. "Well, let's head to intel's room. See where this Marco guy is?"

"Yeah." It seemed there were a million things on his mind. As they walked above deck and toward the temporary intel room, Kaz called in for a few members of the support unit to stock the chopper with necessary supplies Lydia would need on her mission.

As the both of them emerged into the Intel room, the soldiers greeted them with a salute. "At ease." Lydia held up her right hand. "So, there's good news?"

"Yes ma'am." A hispanic gentleman, by the name of Rowdy Kangaroo, continued the conversation. "We found your man. Seems he's with the Soviet army." On December 27, 1979, the Soviet Union's government invaded Afghanistan. There were tensions between support of the Afghan communist government and the anticommunist Muslim guerrillas since 1978, but the Soviet's decided to recently lend a hand in making their movement more prominent. After the government was overthrown in 1978, the new power forged close ties with the Soviet Union.

It was a popular time for Diamond Dogs to be stationed so close to Afghanistan. Business was booming. Insurgencies arose against the Soviet-backed government and banded together as the mujahideen. Kazuhira spent most of his time taking a squad to train various groups that were wanting to take back the government.

It would only make sense that Marco was in Afghanistan for an extended period of time. After she had thought Ocelot killed him, he must have enlisted in the general Soviet Army. R. Kangaroo handed her a colored photo of Marco dressed in Soviet gear. He looked the exact same…only with more wrinkles on his forehead. _That's him alright._

"If you could bring him back to base, that would be ideal." Kaz interjected. "But if things go south, you do what you have to do."

"Got it." She gave the photo back to the R. Kangaroo.

"You're not gonna need this?"

"No. I have a good memory." Lydia tapped her temple with her right hand. The soldier took the picture from her and placed it onto a desk close-by him.

"Well, we found him in a Soviet Central Base Camp. His shift is in twelve-hour increments." R. Kangaroo sprawled out a bird's-eye view map of the post. "He walks around this hangar in particular." He pointed to a large facility on the northern-most point of the area. "Soviet's quickly took over this base camp some time in December. Since this is a strong-hold, there will be more men in there than what you're probably used to."

"Nothing I can't handle." Lydia nodded.

"In and out." Kaz ordered. "Don't go doing anything extra. Remember that Boss is the priority, Lydia."

"You don't have to remind me." She dully responded. Kaz's eyebrows narrowed as he stared at her through his sunglasses. "I'll head out soon." Lydia held a thumbs-up. "Thank you for all your hard work, guys. Keep up the good work. Let's work on getting those other two."

"Yes ma'am!"

"No slacking." Kaz butted in. "We might have one victory, but we're still in the dark. I expect all of you to work even harder."

"Yessir!" Everyone in the room saluted as the two commanders made their exit.

"I'm going to go say 'bye' to Kazuo." Lydia informed. "You want to come with?"

"I'll check Queequeg's status. Radio me when you're on your way." Lydia nodded as she parted from Kaz.

It took her a couple of minutes to make it to the Mess Hall. Lydia saw Kazuo playing a game of "Go Fish" with a few other troops. He was leaning over to someone sitting next to him asking what symbol was paired with the card number he was holding onto.

"You're lucky I'm not the _other_ Commander." Lydia chuckled as the four men and Kazuo's shoulder jumped in surprise. They instantly stood up and saluted her. "It's alright gentlemen, I won't tell anyone."

"Hi, Mommy." Kazuo waved from his seat.

"You having fun in here, kiddo?"

"We're playing cards!"

"I see that." Lydia approached him and ruffled his blonde hair with her hand. She bent her knees and got eye-level with him. "I'm gonna go on a trip. I'll be gone for a couple of days."

"But Mommy, we just got here!" Kazuo wined and puffed out his lower lip.

"No whining." Lydia narrowed her eyes. "Mommy has a job to do, ok? Come give me a hug?" She held out her arms as Kazuo almost instantly crashed into her. "I'll miss you, kiddo."

"I'll miss you, too, Mommy."

"So cute." One of the soldiers whispered out. Lydia departed from her son and stood up to take a gander at the troops. They were huddled shoulder to shoulder with tears of happiness welling up in their eyes.

"Pull yourselves together." Lydia chuckled at the display. "You guys have fun in here." Lydia gave a final pat on her son's head then walked out of the mess hall. As she was ordered, she let Kaz know she was coming to the helipad.

Queequeg was patiently waiting inside his chopper as Kaz stood by with his arms crossed over his chest. "Kazuo's still in the Mess Hall." Lydia mentioned as she closed the gap between them. "You ok?"

"Just fine." He answered quickly. "It's been years and we finally tracked one of them down. We're one step closer to finding Boss."

"That's the spirit." Lydia held out her hand to which Kaz instantly took.

"Don't let me down. No…don't let _Boss_ down." Lydia leaned in and kissed him on his cheek.

"Never have." She winked and boarded herself onto the chopper. "I'll be back in a few days!"

"Keep your communications on!" Kaz ordered as Queequeg started to power on the blades. "There's a surprise waiting for you near the L.Z.!"

"Can't wait!" She hollered as Queequeg lifted off the ground.

"Nice to have you aboard, Sub-C!" Queequeg shouted back. Lydia shut the cargo door and made herself comfortable on one of the chairs that were bolted in.

"Good to be with you!" She responded. "What's our ETA?"

"We'll make it there by 19:00! You've got plenty of time to yourself!"

"At least I have you so I won't go crazy!" She examined the cargo on board. There was a pair of binoculars, an A.R. that was displayed on a weapon's rack and a tranq pistol with ammo for both weapons. On the wall next to the weapons was a photo of Kaz and Kazuo that Lydia had taken for Kazuo's third birthday. Kaz was sitting cross-legged while Kazuo was comically rubbing his father's cheek with his face. Kazuo's eyes were shut tight as he gave the camera a big smile. Kaz's eyes were shielded by his sunglasses, as usual, but she could tell he was just as amused.

Most of the time, Kazuo seemed like he was the only one keeping Kaz together. Kaz was distancing himself more often. Since the conflict started up in Afghanistan, he took extended leaves to train the mujahideen. Kazuo often talked about missing his father. He had grown more attached to Lydia the more he was absent. Hopefully with Lydia gone, she thought this would be a prime opportunity for Kaz to bond with him.

A few hours had passed before the clock hit 19:20. They were finally where they needed to be. "Alright Sub-C! The base if going to be a couple hundred meters to the North." Queequeg briefed. "There's a man that's at the L.Z. that has something for you, I can see him now!"

"Alright!" Lydia strapped the A.R. to her back and fastened the pistol in her hip holster. She packed away a few other essentials, med pack, smoke grenades, empty magazines, and binoculars.

The cover of night would give her the advantage of entering the strong-hold. Lydia opened the cargo door and readied herself for exit. "Let me know when I need to return! Just radio me, I'll be back in the same spot!"

"Sounds good!" Lydia confirmed. Below, she saw a man dressed in a camouflage uniform that was waving them down. Beside him, he had a beautiful white horse with a blonde mane and tail. When the chopper got close enough to the ground, Lydia jumped out and instantly made her way to the man in the distance.

"Hi Sub-C! Welcome to Afghanistan! I'm Sneaking Dingo."

"Hello there." She eyed him and then the horse. "Is this my surprise?"

"It sure is. The commander told me to buy the best one I could find. It should help you really close the gap from here to the strong-hold."

"How nice of him." She brought up her hand and rubbed it's neck.

"She's a sweet horse, for sure. I'm going to hop on Queequeg and wait for you! Call us when you have him!"

"Thank you." She held out her hand for a hand-shake which was happily received. "See you soon." S. Dingo departed and hopped on Queequeg. Lydia dialed Kaz's frequency on her radio with a smile on her face. "Kaz, are you there?"

"You make it?"

"Sure did. Got my surprise, too." She pet the horse's mane while she spoke. The hair was thick and beautiful. "Thanks for the horse."

"I'm glad you like it." Kaz responded with a hitch in his voice.

"She'll help out a lot. Won't you girl?" Lydia hoisted herself onto the horse's saddle and positioned herself in a comfortable position. "I think I'll name her Friar."

"Remember to keep your communications on. It has a tracking device. Just as long as you have it on, we'll be able to find you. I you turn it off, things are going to go dark."

"Thank you, thank you." Lydia responded as she gripped onto the horse's reigns. "I'll touch base, soon. Over and out." Lydia placed her comms on mute as she gently heeled the Friar's ribs to start moving.

Lydia took her time in making it to the base. Once outside the strong-hold at a safe distance, she departed from Friar and began to climb up a small hill of tall rocks. "I didn't think Afghanistan would be so…rocky." She complained to herself the higher she got. Once on top of the rocks located on the south-western side of the base, she took out her binoculars and put herself into a prone position. "Alright, Marco. Where are you?" Her eyes instantly fell on the large hangar to the north. She placed the binoculars to her eyes and zoomed in. There were a few people guarding it's entrance and a few others just walking around the facility.

Luckily, since it was night, there weren't a lot of guards posted. Lydia's attention turned to the garage door to which she spotted two soldiers conversing with one another. She zoomed in as far as she could. There he was. Without a hat to hide his messy brown hair. "Got you."

Lydia put her binoculars in the corresponding pocket, rose to a crouching position, and examined her immediate surroundings. Down below her was a power-supply and a small path that would act as the long way to Marco. Lydia's eyes returned to the north. If she decided to take the fast route, there were more places for cover until she reached a storage lot of cargo-trucks. _I could travel vehicle to vehicle…and there are a lot of cement blockades that I could take advantage of._ Lydia narrowed her eyes. _That's my option. I'll go the direct route._

Lydia climbed her way back to the small hill of rocks and proceeded toward the hangar. She made her way past a guard post with one guard stationing it. Looks like his job was to pass in vehicles…too bad he wasn't looking for people. Lydia snickered to herself at the simplicity.

Next, she came up to a waist-high concrete barricade. She hid behind it and eyed the empty lot ahead of her. In her peripherals, a light shined her way. Immediately, Lydia ducked her head own and sucked in some air. She turned her head to the right to see the light of a flashlight go over the top of the barricade. _That was close._ Lydia pulled out her tranq gun and tapped the hilt against the concrete a few times before putting it away. She then heard the man hum in curiosity.

Lydia closed her eyes and concentrated on his footsteps as they got closer and closer. Lydia opened her eyes once she heard his hand grasp the top of the barricade so he could look over. Lydia stood up, grabbed his right arm and forced him to trip over the barricade. She positioned her left arm around his neck and flushed his back against her chest. He struggled to get free, but it was no use. The Soviet was passed out in a matter of seconds. "Stay there." She whispered. She peeked back over the top of the cover and discovered the coast was clear.

Marco was in her line of sight. The soldier that was talking to him previously left. Lydia vaulted over the cover and made her way to a multitude of parked cargo vehicles. She got prone and crawled under the first vehicle. She made her way under four trucks before she was in comfortable approaching distance. Lydia grasped onto an empty magazine in one of her cargo pockets.

She emerged out from under the vehicle and instantly tossed the magazine toward the south-east corner of the hangar. "What was that?" He spoke in English. _Yes, he fell for it._ Lydia quickly closed the gap between them and followed him in a crouch until he stopped walking. Once he emerged himself into the dark area where the magazine landed he stopped to examine. Marco knelt down and picked up the empty magazine and muttered something in Russian before tossing it aside.

Lydia took this opportunity to stand up and place her tranq pistol to his back. Instantly, he held up his arms and yelped in surprise. "Be quiet." Lydia ordered. "Walk." She nudged him forward to turn the corner so they were hidden between a steep hill and the hangar. Lydia put her gun away and smashed her elbow against the back of his neck pinned him against the wall with her body weight. "I know who you are, Marco."

"W-w-what do you want from me?!" He softly shivered out.

"I'm looking for someone, and I hear you know where he is."

"T-the scientist?!"

"The what?" Lydia's eyebrow raised. "No. Someone else. Someone who knows _Big Boss._ "

"S-S-S-Shalashaska!" He whimpered out.

"Shalashaska?" Lydia questioned. "What kind of name is that?"

"I-I-I don't know! I just know he knows who Big Boss is! He's a maniac. A total sadist!"

"Where is he?"

"I don't know! He could be anywhere!" She dug her elbow harder into his neck. "Ow, I swear!"

"I believe you." Lydia sighed. _If he knew it was Ocelot, he would have spoken his name. What a shame._ "Would you like me to stuff you in a closet again?"

"W-What?" Lydia removed herself from him. Marco turned around to catch a small glimpse of her face before she uppercutted him in the jaw. He grunted in pain as Lydia took a hold of his collar. "Carlsbad?!"

"I'm honored you remember me. My dear Marco, I want to stab you in the leg over and over again until you have the muscle damage that I do, bub. I can't believe Ocelot let you live."

"What are you talking about?! That bastard shot me in _both_ my legs and left me to die out there. I had to crawl myself back to base and get out of there on my own."

"Serves you right." Lydia found herself chuckling at the imagination. "You mentioned something about a scientist. My base could use one of those." She grabbed out her knife and stuck the blade to his throat. "Where are they?"  
"He's in there." He pointed over his shoulder with his thumb.

"Thanks." Lydia quickly put her gun away and grabbed a hold of his right arm. He twisted it behind his back then held him in a choke-hold. "Don't worry, I'll let you live. You're just gonna go to sleep for a while." Within a minute, he was out like a light. Lydia reached to her radio and turned on her mic. "Kaz, you copy?"

"I'm here."

"I found him. Before I forget the name, he told me 'Shalashaska'. That's our man."

"Great job, Iris. I'll have our guys look into him and see what they can find."

"Give me some time to get out of the strong-hold." Lydia mentioned. "I'm going to look into something they have here."

"No. I told you specif-" Lydia cut him off and switched off her communicator. She knelt down and started to undress Marco.

"Just like old times, am I right?" She chuckled to herself. "Won't be the first time you wake up in your underwear in a strange place." Lydia slid off her tactical harness and gently placed it on the ground before she changed into his uniform. In Marco's pocket, he kept a black beret. "Perfect." Lydia put on the cap and stuffed her hair under the fabric. She put on her tactical vest which blended into what some of the other guys were wearing around the strong-hold.

Lydia cracked her neck before she held her A.R. in both of her hands and walked away from the side of the building. She made her way along the garaged wall before turning another corner that led to the opposite side that had the entrance. Just her luck, there was no one in sight. _Man, I wish things were like this in the day-time!_ Lydia smiled to herself. _Maybe I should take more night missions._

Lydia approached an automated door and watched it quickly slide open. Inside, she could hear someone tinkering with some type of keyboard. Quietly, she walked further into the hangar. She was surrounded my metro-shelving that was stocked full with mechanical supplies and other engineering resources. It was a small pathway that led to an opening that revealed the rest of the hangar. Step by step, Lydia made her way to the entrance.

She flushed her back against one of the shelvings and peeked around the corner. There was a man dressed in black pants and a blue and white striped collared shirt. The sleeves were rolled up just above his elbows. His hair was shaggy and dark brown. Completely like a scientist to have unkept hair. Lydia's eyes traveled to his legs. The man was standing and rubbing his forehead. But, he had something attached to his legs…machines? Lydia squinted her eyes until he had turned to his left to look at something across the room. That face. _His rat-like_ face. Hidden behind those rounded eye-glasses.

The man turned back around and faced his computers again. But Lydia didn't need to take another look at him to know who it was. Lydia took the cap off of her head and dropped it on the floor. She walked out from cover and stood up straight as she strapped the A.R. to her back. At the sound, the _scientist_ turned around. "Huh? Can I help you?" He snaked his head from side to side trying to get a good look at her until she stepped into the light to reveal herself.

"Emmerich." The words fell out of her mouth with malice dripping off each syllable. The desire to watch him wriggle, suffocate, and perish filled her mind. She saw nothing but red as he looked at her with all the terror he could muster in those dull eyes.

Before she knew it, she found herself lunging for him. A right hook across his delicate face. She could feel his cheekbone crack on impact. Sloppily, he fell on top of his desk. As he attempted to regain his balance, Lydia knocked him back onto the desk with another right hook that split open his cheek. "Please!" He shouted out. "Someone he-!" Lydia's hands wrapped around his scrawny neck as she pinned him to the desk.

The faces of her fallen comrades flashed before her eyes. Each of them with dead, white eyes that reflected the moonlight. Their skin was a pale purple. The explosions and crashed that purged all of Mother Base. The loss and pain of her unborn child. All thanks to the one that weaseled away. She was going to make him suffer like the others that were murdered and finally get vengeance for her fallen family.

Lydia's grip tightened around his neck as he attempted to claw at her hands. He made guttural sounds as he tried to shout out for any help. Lydia could feel his muscles caving under her hands. The bones in his neck cracking at the compacting force she was delivering. "You." She ferociously growled as she stared into his eyes. The veins in his eyes were starting to expand as his flesh started to flush pale. His lips turning purple. "It's all your fault." His skin under her hands was starting to turn a deep red from bruising. Sweat trailed down from his hairline as tears fell from his eyes. This devil. This monster. He was finally her's. He fell into her hands so _easy_. To watch his life fade away in her hands was the most satisfying feeling of all.


	59. Chapter 59

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise**

 **Author's Note: HOOOOOOOO BOY, enjoy the chapter :)**

 **Guest K:** Thank you, thank you! :) Trust me I was SO excited, but that's about to change reaaaaaaaaaaal quick.

 **CaptainMc** : It's gonna get so dark you won't be able to see!

 **yesdudes:** All of the conspiracies all in one, that's what this is!

* * *

 **"Oh shooter,**

 **There are plenty of ways that you can hurt a man,**

 **And bring him to the ground.**

 **You can beat him, you can cheat him,**

 **You can treat him bad, and leave him when he's down."**

 **-Queen**

* * *

The sounds of her own laughter echoed in the hangar as Emmerich was slowly losing life below her. "Did you think you were going to get away with what you did?" She maniacally let go so he could catch a gasp of air before returning her hands to his neck again. His eyes started to bulge from his head as they began to roll back. He choked on his own saliva as it pooled in the back of his throat. "There. That's it. Do you feel it?" She whispered. "Do you feel death coming?"

Suddenly, the ringing of a child's cry bounced off the walls and into her ear-drums. Lydia instantly released Emmerich and looked to her left. She noticed a dinky crib was build next to the shell of a dead A.I. Pod. "What is this?" Lydia's stomach flipped as she heard Huey cough and gag behind her as she approached the small bed.

"Hal." Emmerich wined out. "Please no." Lydia stood over the bed that revealed a small new-born child. Probably only a month or so old. It wailed with it's eyes shut, as it called out to a parent. "S-stay away from him." He begged.

"You know…I was going to have a baby." Lydia stared at the child as he continued wailing. "Boy or girl…who knows? I was lost at sea as the ocean stabbed me with it's cold daggers every night. The sun blistered into my skin. It wasn't long until I was surrounded by my own blood. By my child's blood." Below her, she saw Huey attempt to crawl toward the crib. She lifted up her right leg and smashed it on his back to halt his movements. "It's a shame to see a monster like you with an innocent child. Should I take him away as you did mine?" Lydia pulled out her pistol and cocked the weapon before pointing it at the crib. But her finger was off the trigger. She wanted to hear him beg.

"N-no." Emmerich weeped. "Please Lydia, you don't want to d-do this." He spoke with his damaged vocal chords.

"I feel sorry for who the mother is. Who would ever want to sleep with a rat like you?" She mocked. She pressed her boot harder against his spine.

"Please." He begged.

Sirens started to go off around the base camp. Lydia lifted her foot off of Emmerich's back as she glanced down at the child one last time and put the gun away. "Looks like your life is spared. For the child's sake. This will be the only time I grant you mercy, Huey Emmerich. _If_ we meet again, I'll end your life and not hesitate." Lydia jogged over to the entrance and lifted the beret off the ground. She stuffed her hair inside the hat and readied the A.R.

Regretfully, she left the hangar and examined her surroundings. Either Marco or the other guy woke up and sounded the alarm that there was an intruder. On edge, Lydia reached into one of her cargo pockets and turned her tracker and radio back on. With her disguise, she easily blended in and snuck out of the compound. As she traveled farther south, she reunited with Friar before departing and making her way back to the L.Z.

"Lydia?!" Kaz rang through her ear bud.

"I'm here." She responded as she took herself off of mute. "On my way back to the L.Z."

"What the hell was that?!" Kaz angrily hollered. "I told you to specifically to get our information and then get the hell out of there. What the hell are you thi-" Lydia shut off her communications another time not wanting to pay mind to his frantic scolding.

As she rode on Friar to the L.Z. the night air stung at her eyes. A single tear was followed by many as she carried on through the night. Her right hand was covered in Emmerich's blood from his cheek. Hastily, she rubbed it off on her pants to rid her skin of the impurity. She could see Queequeg hovering above the L.Z. and start to descend the closer she got. Once she was within walking distance, she unmounted from the horse and wiped her face free of any left over tears. On the floor of the cargo, was a single Fulton device. "That's for your horse!" Queequeg called out. "Go ahead and attach 'er to that and we'll bring it back to base!"

"10-4!" She called out and grabbed onto the compacted balloon. She jogged back up to Friar and attached it to her saddle. "See you soon, buddy." Lydia pulled a string on the bag and listened to Friar frantically neigh as the balloon deployed and sent her flying into the air. Lydia let out a small laugh to herself at the display and then returned to the chopper.

As she got in, Queequeg informed her of something she already knew. "Commander Miller wants me to bring you straight back!" Lydia stripped out of the Soviet uniform so she was more comfortable in the clothes she wore earlier. She hung up her guns on the storage rack before making herself comfortable. A flash of Huey's face filled her mind as she cradled her head in her hands.

She should've listened to Kaz. In and out. Snake would have been disappointed in her to risk such an important mission on something so trivial. Hell, Lydia would have never known who was in that hangar if she didn't decide to follow-through. How was she going to tell Kaz? She had hours to think of an excuse as to why she turned off her tracking device.

* * *

 **February 6, 1980: 04:00**

Lydia peered out the chopper's window as they approached Mother Base. It was lit up beautifully. The only thing sour about the view was Kaz waiting impatiently on the helipad. "Do I have to get out?" Lydia asked Queequeg. He only responded with an awkward laugh as he touched down a few minutes later.

As the chopper was powering down, the cargo door quickly slid open with Kaz eyeing Lydia down. She sighed as she made eye contact with him. "Get down here." He ordered her. Lydia crouch walked and slid off down the helicopter. Right when her feet touched the ground, Kaz gripped onto her left bicep and jerked her toward him.

His face was inches from her's. His teeth, gritted. "What the hell were you thinking?!" He asked, holding back some anger. "Answer me, Lydia!" Her eyes guiltily shifted away from his face. "Look at me!" He shouted and jerked her arm to get her attention another time.

"Kaz, you're hurting me."

"Never turn off your tracking device again. Never go dark. Do you understand me?" He scolded her. "What if you were captured? Do you want to be tortured all over again? Do you?!" Lydia held back tears that were about to form in her eyes. "Next time you even _think_ of turning your devices off I want you to remember what it felt like to have your body _electrocuted_ and _burned_." Something in Lydia snapped. She clenched her right hand into a fist and punched him in the chest. He let go of her arm and stumbled backward. He placed his left hand on his chest and breathed deeply as if she had punched out all the oxygen that was in his lungs.

He raised his head from his chest and looked her in the eyes. Lydia dropped her defensive stance and walked past Kaz to go below deck. "Lydia, I-" She didn't acknowledge him as she continued making her way to the dorm hall. She approached her room and almost scanned herself in before something in her told her not to. Lydia then turned around and walked across the hall to her son's room instead. She scanned open the door and walked in, making sure it shut behind her. Kazuo had a night-light plugged in beside his bed. He was sleeping like a star-fish in the middle. Lydia removed her tactical vest and gear before pulling up the comforter and crawling into the bed next to Kazuo.

She saw him open his eyes and look at her. It took his eyes a couple of seconds to adjust to the darkness. "Why are you crying, Mommy?" She didn't even realize as numb tears were falling from her eyes. He snuggled up next to her and placed his head under her chin. Lydia wrapped her arm around him and held him closer. "Don't cry, Mommy." Kazuo said tiredly before dozing off to sleep again. The sound of her son telling her not to cry only resulted her to weep more.

"I love you, kiddo." Lydia whispered as she kissed the top of his head.

* * *

 **February 8, 1980: 09:00**

Lydia had slept in Kazuo's room for the past few days. She or Kaz hadn't made any attempt to go out of their way to contact one another after what had transpired. She was extra hard on the soldiers during basic combat practice. "Why is she putting us through hell right now?" One of the soldiers asked another.

"Didn't you hear? Her and the Commander had a pretty nasty fight." Overhearing the conversation, Lydia cleared her throat.

"Excuse me, that has nothing to do with your training." Lydia narrowed her eyes. "When you go out onto the field, each enemy you face has a different range of skills." She hid the truth that she was actually still angry from Kaz. "Someone might harbor the ability to best you in combat. By training you harder in CQC, you will gain the upper hand in almost any situation."

"Yes ma'am!" The room echoed. They had been at it for about an hour so the men were getting a little tired.

"Good job today." Lydia clapped her hands together. "You are all dismissed."

"Yay!" Kazuo cheered from the side-lines. As Lydia walked out of the Kill-Room with Kazuo, they emerged into a new settled fog that loomed over the base.

"Creepy." Lydia looked around at the hazed environment. "Kazuo, hold my hand. I don't want you getting lost in the fog."

"Ok." he reached up and grasped onto her hand. It was eerily quiet around the platform. Construction had ceased and there were no soldiers in sight. Lydia led Kazuo below deck to the dorm hall and retreated back to his room. To her left, she examined the door to her own room. The light over-head was lit up blue, meaning that Kaz was in there. She sighed and scanned open Kazuo's door.

"We should probably wait until the mist clears up." Lydia suggested to the boy.

"Can you watch a movie with me?"

"Sure, kiddo. Let me go get a movie and a TV." She smiled. "Go ahead and wait in there. I'll bring some snacks, too."

"I love snacks!" He smiled big.

"I know you do. I'll be right back!" She shut the door and turned around. Lydia stared down the door to her own room before it suddenly opened! Her shoulders jumped in surprise as Kaz stood in the doorway.

Her heart-beat racing, she let out a long sigh. "You scared me."

"Hey." He greeted, not moving.

"It's pretty misty out." Lydia informed, trying to find something to talk about. "That's something we didn't get often on the other base." She scratched the back of her neck.

"What are you doing?" He kindly asked as he leaned against the door frame.

"I'm going to go get a movie we have in storage. Kazuo wanted to watch something."

"Alright. Nothing too violent, ok?" Lydia smiled softly at his concern.

"I'll make sure it's not _too_ bad." Lydia turned to walk away from him, but he suddenly grabbed a hold of her wrist. She turned to face him another time.

"Lydia, I need you to know that I was hurt. I'm afraid of losing you. I already lost you once."

"I understand." Lydia responded. "I probably would have reacted the same way if I were in your shoes." Lydia gently shook away her wrist from his hand. "Anyway, I'm going to go get that movie. I'll see you later." Without another word she continued her mission. Seemed like Kaz wanted to say something else, but she didn't give him the chance.

Out on deck, the mist got thicker to the point where she could only see about two meters in front of her. Slowly, Lydia made her way to the packed Mess Hall where a lot of the troops had congregated due to the heavy mist. About twenty guys were scattered around the room either playing cards, arm-wrestling, or chatting amongst one another. The staff preparing food were busy as they made orders as they were received. Lydia nonchalantly walked to the order counter and waited patiently before being attended to.

"Oh! Sub-C! I didn't see you walk in!" Hungry Hippo saluted from behind the counter. "What can I make for you today?"

"Special order of a single bowl of popcorn." Lydia winked.

"Coming right up!" H. Hippo turned around and proceeded to a separate room. Lydia turned to face the audience of the mess hall and leaned her lower body against the counter as she examined the groups. It seemed as if everyone got along for the most part. It was certainly better than being confined on such small grounds like Rhodesia.

About five minutes had passed before H. Hippo had returned from the back room with a metal bowl filled with freshly popped popcorn. "Ahhh thank you so much." Lydia took the bowl with a smile on her face.

"No prob, Sub-C. We'll see you later!" He saluted her one more time before she turned and walked out of the Mess Hall. After making her way to a miscellaneous storage room, she found a small stack of VHS movies some of the men had collected from their journeys. For some reason, they were hooked on western's. _The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly, High Noon, True Grit._ Lydia floated her right hand to _Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid._ A classic western she had never had the chance to see that was released back in '69 and the _tamest_ of the movies that were available. Next to the pile of movies, she saw the small TV and VHS player that was fastened safely on a small metal cart. Lydia gently placed the bowl of popcorn and the tape on the top of the cart and began to wheel it out of the storage room.

Upon returning to the hallway where Lydia and Kazuo's room was, the light appeared to be red on top of her own door…which is what was expected from Kaz. With a sigh, Lydia scanned open Kazuo's door only to find Kaz, himself, was having an arm-wrestling match on the bed with his son. Kaz was loosing…horribly. Kazuo's head turned toward the door to see who it was and then returned to the wrestling match. "LOOK MOMMY I'M WINNING!" He shouted with glee. Kazuo was trying with all his might to slam Kaz's arm to the bed.

"Oh no." Kaz over-acted. "I think I'm going to lose again." He smiled as Kaz stopped tensing up his muscles and let Kazuo win. "Oh, would you look at that?"

"You lost, Daddy." Kazuo pointed his right index finger in his face.

"Don't rub it in, son. I'm a sore loser." Lydia started to crack up as she wheeled in the cart and placed it in front of Kazuo's bed. "Do I smell popcorn?" Kaz readjusted himself on the bed and looked toward the cart.

"You sure do." Lydia confirmed.

"Since when did we have popcorn?"

"Since the guys started collecting movies." Lydia began to get everything set up.

"Looks like I need to pay more attention to what they put on the order sheet. But…I can let it slide for now." Kaz ruffled his son's hair.

"Daddy, get it!" Kazuo ordered as he pointed to the big bowl of popcorn. Kaz reached for the bowl and grabbed a hold of it while Lydia plugged in the VHS player. Kazuo let out a gasp as Kaz handed him the bowl.

"That's a lot of popcorn!" He exclaimed as he stuffed his small hand in the bowl and grabbed a couple of pieces before devouring them. "Daddy said he's going to watch the movie with us."

"Oh is he?" Lydia questioned as she turned on the TV and inserted the tape.

"The weather makes it hard to do anything." Kaz admitted. "So I can spend some time with you both." Lydia saw right through him. Must have been what was on his mind before she had left.

"Well you better like western's cuz we're watching _Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid._ "

"COWBOYS!" Kazuo shouted and threw his hands up in the air. Lydia and Kaz laughed at his outburst. Kaz and Kazuo both scooted to the headboard of the bed and leaned against it as Lydia started up the movie.

"Here we go!" Lydia walked to the light switch, turned off the light, and sat next to Kazuo so he was sandwiched in the middle between her and Kaz.

At the opening sequence of the movie, a train rolled into view in a silent-film format. "Cool train!" Kazuo grabbed another small hand-full of popcorn and ungracefully stuffed it in his mouth.

"I wonder where he gets that from." Lydia chuckled at Kaz's point. As the movie went on, Lydia couldn't help but think of the events that transpired in the camp. What was Huey doing there? Who was the mother of that child? Was _he_ really a father? Her heart-rate started to increase as she remembered the feel of his sweaty neck beneath her hands. Where did he get that dead A.I. Pod? Did he build it? Did he have help?

A tap on her shoulder brought her back to reality. She looked to her side at Kaz who had snapped her out of it. "Where are you?" Kaz mouthed slowly without sound. Lydia shrugged as her lips drooped into a frown. She couldn't dare to tell Kaz she found Huey. He was already disappointed to begin with…no telling he would become even more enraged after hearing that news.

* * *

 **March 4, 1980: 12:00**

The event continued to eat away at Lydia for the next month. It gnawed at her brain every passing moment of each day. Huey. She saw him. That was her chance for revenge. _Bang._ She didn't take it. _Bang._ He was within her grasp. _Bang._ After the she shot the final target in the kill-room, Lydia placed the Burkov down on a table adjacent to her.

To her right, she heard a pistol being fired at an accelerated rate. Raising an eyebrow, Lydia turned to face the soldier firing the weapon. He was holding an odd stance with his body and firing the gun from his hip. On his fourth bullet, the gun had jammed. "Huh?" Embarrassed, the soldier looked around the semi-crowded facility to see if anyone had noticed. His face flushed red when he saw Lydia was looking right at him. She chuckled at his display. "You were asking to have your gun jam on you." Lydia walked toward the man as she repeated Snake's words from so long ago. "I had a friend that would use that same exact technique on a dinky automatic pistol. Absorbing the recoil…you'd get your sharp shooting from a revolver if anything. Any other pistol…you best just point and shoot."

"Y-yes ma'am!"

"Good. Now let me see you fire again. This time…properly." He reloaded the pistol and went back to shooting. In an instant, a familiar tone rang through her right ear. The Intel and R&D Department collaborated to make a new and improved iDroid. It was simpler to use than the last that's for sure. It could fit into the palm of her hand and had easy storage capabilities. When receiving calls, the iDroid would wirelessly connect to an earpiece to transmit any inbound or outbound transmissions. It had multiple functions that were only improved upon being the model 2.1. It displayed 24/7 satellite-based map images and a built-in Soliton Radar that could detect close-by biological reactions. It had the capability to create a rendezvous point to any chopper just as the previous one had. One other thing the R&D department installed was an A.I. that gave warning of any type of weather changes in the area. It was certainly a neat contraption…that's for sure.

Lydia tapped on her ear-piece and spoke. "Lydia here."

"Sub-C, this is C. Raccoon from Intel. We are requesting your assistance in the main Intel room at your earliest convenience, please?"

"Alright, I'll be right over." Lydia ended the call and returned her attention to the man who had just finished firing a clip toward a target. He hadn't hit the target...not even once. She looked around to the other men who were firing their pistols with ease. "You know what. I don't think pistols are your thing." Lydia placed her hand on the man's shoulder. "What's your name?"  
"Rumbling Rhino, ma'am." He responded, solemnly.

"Well, R. Rhino, I have an idea. Wait right here." She gently took the pistol from him and walked over toward the weapon's rack that was placed on the opposite end of the kill-room, away from all the gun-fire. She placed the pistol back and retrieved a rifle from the rack. She then grabbed a hold of a scope and attached it to the top. She held the rifle to her side then handed it to the soldier upon her return. "Here, try this."

"But, I've never used one of these before." He grabbed the sniper rifle from her.

"That's why I'm here." Lydia urged him to get set up. "I would recommend shooting prone until you're more comfortable with the weapon."

"Yes ma'am." The soldier gulped and proceeded to lie down in a prone position. He extended the small stand of the weapon then pressed the hilt against his body. Lydia operated the target to come down at the far end of the facility. "You want me to hit _that_?"

"Yep." Lydia nodded and clicked her tongue against her cheek. "Keep your scope in mind. You always want to aim higher based on distance. Exhale when firing." Lydia brought out her own scope and zoomed in to the target. "Why don't you go for a body shot?" A few moments passed until she saw a bullet land square in the middle of the target's body.

"Whoa." He said, breathlessly, amazed at his own shot.

"Where you might lack in one area, you have skills in another." Lydia lowered her binoculars. "You're a natural shot with that thing. Keep at it." She winked at him. R. Rhino held a thumbs up and loaded another bullet into the chamber, eager to show the next dummy target who's boss.

Lydia dismissed herself from the room and proceeded to make her way to the intel room above deck. Once inside, everyone was working hard on their own personal assignments. Some, giving mission briefs, and others acting as translators. The intel lead waved her down from across the room. "Sub-C, right over here." He called out.

Lydia weaved her way through the small room and positioned herself next to one of the department leads, Countering Raccoon. "What's going on?"

"I just received a transmission from one of our guys near a Soviet camp in Afghanistan. They're saying that they're expecting Shalashaska to arrive later tonight."

"What?!" A smile crept onto Lydia's face.

"Tampering Mongoose pulled it off when he got his hands on the squad's sergeant. In a small village near-by to point of interest."

"Excellent work." Lydia patted him on the back. C. Raccoon pulled up a satellite map of the area under investigation.

"He says he's going to be here, Da Ghwandai Khar." He pointed to the virtual map. "Not sure where, but that's where our guy is going to be."

"I guess I should get ready to take off so I don't lose him." Lydia smiled and pat C. Raccoon's back one more time. "We're gonna get that son of a bitch!" Lydia hollered out cheerfully before making her way out of the building. She pulled out her iDroid and selected to call Kaz before placing the device back into her pocket.

"This is Kaz."

"We got him." Lydia confirmed.

"Seriously?" The tone of his voice automatically pepped up. "I'll get the new chopper ready for you." Kaz sounded all too excited. "Time to take Pequod out for his first run."

"I'm on my way to say bye to Kazuo. Make sure he packs me both lethal and non-lethal pistols, please."

"You got it. I'll make sure Friar's ready for deployment, too. Kazuo's in the school room with K. Marsupial."

"Thanks." Lydia turned off her transmitter then jogged up a flight of stairs on the northern-most side of the command platform. One of the few places that wasn't under construction. Lucky for Lydia, Kaz had recruited a school teacher who had volunteered from Australia to help Kazuo out full-time now he was at proper schooling age. She was a powerful asset to the team and a really great connection for Kazuo.

Upon walking in, Kazuo was assorting cut-outs of the alphabet in order to the best of his ability…of course…that was _before_ Lydia had walked in. "MOMMY!" His four-year-old body jumped up from his seating position as he came hurling toward her at top-speed. He latched onto her legs as he looked up at her. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to tell you I'm going to be going on a mission."

"Can I come?"

"No, no. Not this time." Lydia smiled.

"But Daddy's boring."

"Sub-C." K. Marsupial greeted before Lydia could respond to Kazuo's comment. "I have to tell you, Kazuo is a very fast-learning child. I think being around all these adults are rubbing off on him."

"Yeah, he's one smart kid. Aren't ya?" Lydia ruffled his hair.

"Mm-hmm!" He let go of Lydia then returned back to his alphabet puzzle.

"You're a saint." Lydia complimented. "Thank you for volunteering and being our full-time baby-sitter."

"Like I said when Kaz took me in, it's my honor." She smiled. "Go have fun on your mission." She winked.

"Oh I'll try." Lydia walked to Kazuo and knelt down next to him. "Bye sweet-heart."

"Bye, Mommy." Lydia kissed him on top of his head then returned outside. It didn't take long for her earpiece to ring another time. Lydia answered the call quickly. "This is Lydia."

"I'll meet you at the helipad. Pequod put together your tactical gear and is en route. I caught up with the intel squad. We can finally get this asshole." Kaz expressed with complete confidence.

"Can't wait."


	60. Chapter 60

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise!**

 **A/N: *Drum-roll* The long-awaited reunion is finally upon us! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it! :) BTW This chapter is a little over 8,000 words, longest one yet! Happy Chapter 60!**

 **Guest K:** Dude, I know the feeling! I also couldn't wait to post! I re-read the HELL out of this chapter just to make sure it was pristine for our lovely reunion!

 **Guest (Jun18):** Finally! I missed writing him SO MUCH! I can't wait to get Venom and for shit to just go down.

 **Levolutioner:** HERE HE IS! I hope you enjoy it :)

 **Guest (Jun27):** FINALLYYYYYYYY YASSSS!

 ****MATURE CONTENT WARNING: Torture (Major), Violence (Major), Sexual Themes (Minor)**

* * *

 **"I've seen fire and I've seen rain.**

 **I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end.**

 **I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend,**

 **But I always thought that I'd see you again."**

 **-James Taylor**

* * *

 **March 4, 1980: 14:00**

Lydia stood clear from the helipad as Pequod made his way into her sights "Be careful, Lydia. I have Friar ready for deployment. I'll brief you when you get closer to the LZ."

"Got it." She could see Pequod coming in from the west, circling his way around the command platform. Kaz and Lydia stood in silence until Pequod was hovering for pick-up. "I'm out." Before she was able to step onto the platform, Kaz took a hold of her arm, stopping her in her tracks.

"This is our only chance to know where Boss is…do it for him." Lydia nodded, placing her hand on top of his and removing it from her bicep. Lydia hopped into the chopper and sat on the ledge as Pequod took off. _It took us a long time to track this bastard down, he's a hard man to find. Let's just hope I don't lose him._ Lydia swung both her legs into the hull and shut the sliding door behind her.

"Pequod, you know where we're going?" Lydia asked for good-measure.

"We're gonna go to Da Ghwandai Khar in Afghanistan. It's a rising Soviet outpost. If your man is anywhere, he's gonna be there alright."

"Let's just hope what little intel we had was solid." Lydia looked around and spotted her weapons up on the wall of the chopper. "Hey, thanks for loading everything up for me." Lydia mentioned, leaning behind Pequod's pilot seat.

"No problem, ma'am! Didn't want to waste any time today!"

"You and me both."

"We'll make it around 21:00!" He mentioned. "I got an engine upgrade so we'll be able to fly a little faster than Queequeg."

"Might get a little shut-eye, then!" Lydia hollered. "It's gonna be a long night!" Lydia made herself comfortable in the back as much as she could and closed her eyes.

* * *

 **March 4, 1980: 21:20**

"Looks like we're getting close!" Pequod yelled back to Lydia, awakening her from her much-needed nap.

"Already? Roger that." Lydia sat up straight and took down a silenced, non-lethal Burkov and attached it to her hip. She then grabbed a lethal pistol for emergencies and placed it in a secondary holster near her back. Her eyes moved to the dry landscape outside; she couldn't help but squint as her pupils adjusted to the darkness. "Opening hatch!" She called out, then slid the chopper's door open. Her legs roamed off the side as she sat on her butt, waiting for a comfortable position to land.

A few meters out, she could see Friar waiting patiently for her arrival. _What a good girl._ Lydia smiled as they approached the LZ. "See ya later!"

"Come back safe, Sub-C!" Lydia jumped down, landing next to Friar. "Hey buddy." She brought her right hand up and stroked her blonde mane. "You ready for an adventure?" She expected her to say something back… "Heh, me too." Lydia pulled her iDroid from her pocket and queued on the map. "Alright Da Ghwandai Khar…you are…" She poked at the holographic screen and set a marker on the closest stronghold. "… _there_. Well, time to go." Lydia's hands made their way to Friar's saddle. Lydia adjusted it before she hoisted herself onto the horse's back.

"Alright girl, let's go." She nudged her ribs softly with her boots which resulted in Friar to move forward. She grasped onto the reigns and was on her way to her destination.

It was colder than what she was expecting. Afghanistan had no mercy on anyone when it came to weather, that's for sure, wether it was winter or summer. The cold was drying her out and she hadn't even exerted that much physical energy! She led Friar through a rocky-passageway that was located south of Da Ghawandai Khar. Once arrived, she saw the large outpost that was lit up. Some of it was under construction due to the growth of soviet control in the area.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Lydia pulled back on Friar's reigns as she came to a complete stop. She dismounted from Friar and readjusted her posture once she was flat on the ground. "Good girl." Lydia lifted up her left hand to pat Friar on her neck while she pulled out her iDroid with her right. She fidgeted with her device as she pulled up Kaz's contact information. "Time to check in." From her breast pocket, she grabbed an ear-piece that wirelessly hooked up to the iDroid.

She switched on the ear piece and tuned in to the ringing of the outbound call. "Kaz, if you can hear me, I made it."

"Copy. I see you on my end." His voice protruded through the little speaker embedded in her ear. "Glad you made it. Ready for briefing?"

"For sure." Lydia inhaled as she took out her binoculars from one of her many pockets. Kaz sighed at her immature response. "Only lightening the mood, sweetheart." She could hear his hand slapping on his face through the transmitter - nearly making her bust a gut.

"Your mission is to secure the man that goes by Shalashaska. If our Intel is correct, he should be located in one of those buildings. Remember Iris, this is a _stealth_ mission. If you are detected, our chance at finding Boss is flushed down the drain. Also keep in mind that Shalashaska's made a name for himself down there. If you get captured…" Lydia zoomed in, to spot a few guards that could potentially be an issue. To the west of the compound, she examined a soldier standing all by his lonesome by a white-bricked wall. _Looks like I found my way in._

"Consider me dead. Don't worry about me Kaz." Lydia zoomed out of her binoculars. "I'm on a stealth mission, not a suicide. I'll secure Shalashaska then bring him back to base. I'm not scared of a man with an intimidating title." She placed the sight-aid back into it's corresponding pocket.

"Alright. Call me if you need more intel."

"Got 'cha." Lydia then heard the iDroid's lovely female AI voice chime in through her ear piece.

"Sandstorm approaching."

"God damn, I _hate_ Afghanistan. Couldn't he have hid in a jungle or something? I'm much better in those." Lydia pulled out a red scarf from one of her cargo pockets and fastened it below her eyes to cover up her nose and mouth. She tied it tight behind her head so it would be more difficult for sand to get in. _I'm glad Pequod packed me goggles._ Lydia reached into another pocket and pulled out the handy-dandy eye protection. She placed them over her eyes and secured the band under the hilt of her pony-tail. "Kaz I'm sending you Friar before this storm hits." She called in.

"We'll get her safely." He responded.

"Have a nice trip buddy." She activated the Fulton recovery that was located on her saddle. A few moments later, Friar was pulled toward the sky with a surprised neigh. "I will _never_ get over that." Lydia smiled under her scarf. "Alright Shalashaska, let's see what you're all about." Starting with a light jog, Lydia began making her way to the cliff village. To the north, she could see the sand storm slowly inching its way over. Hopefully, the night and the storm would give her enough cover to move through the village undetected. Lydia then sprinted a few more meters before the sand engulfed the area. The strong winds and sand hit her hard - but her long sleeves and gear aided against the blast.

She jogged up a steep slope and stumbled upon the white-bricked wall she spotted earlier with her binoculars. If her memory served her correctly, there should be a male right around the corner to her right. She moved swiftly against the wall, hearing the shuffle of a soldier approaching her through the sand storm. _Yay._ She happily thought to herself. Once past the wall, she pulled out her knife, grabbed the man in a choke-hold, and dragged him back to the wall behind cover. "Where is Shalashaska?" The guy replied in Russian, slightly frightened. "In English, asshole."

"Weather will clear shortly." _Thanks._

"U-u-up." The Russian choked out.

"If you don't want this knife in your throat, you better give me a solid answer, _bub_."

"Hnnnnnngh." He struggled then said something in Russian again.

"Kaz, you got any of that?"

"We're no good without a translator. Find someone that speaks English."

"Well…he did say…"

"Up." The man motioned his head toward the top of the cliff.

"Ohhhh, I get it." Lydia tightened her grip and choked the man until he fell limp in her arms. "Thanks, bub." She propped him against the wall. The storm slowly dissipated until her surroundings were clear. She took the goggles off and placed them back in the corresponding pocket. _So I'm guessing this guy is at the very tippy top of the cliff._ She poked her head around the edge of the wall, looking up at the building located a few dozen meters away. _Ugh that's going to be quite the climb._

Looking up to the top of the wall, she spotted a window that lead into a small house. Stepping a few paces back, she sprinted to the wall and got a running jump to reach the top. Lydia successfully grabbed the edge of the wall and hoisted herself up and through the small window of the complex. Crouching, she made her way to the door in front of her. Standing on the receiving end, she listened to her surroundings, which sounded clear. She pushed the door open and crept out into the open area. Keeping an eye on the path that zig-zagged it's way up the cliff, she weaved her way through cover. She pressed her back against another wall, and decided to catch her breath from the fast travel before moving forward.

"Hm?" She heard from above her. _Crap, that's not me._ Biting her lip from under the scarf, she spotted a sniper from the post right in front of her. At least he wasn't using his gun to spot her, but he could do that at any moment! The guy was obviously curious! He was trying to make out if she was a part of the wall. Lydia was amazed that the red scarf didn't give it away. With a swift motion, she pulled out her tranquilizer gun and aimed for the man's head. Letting out a slow exhale, she shot. The small dart hit him on his left shoulder. Knowing it wouldn't take long for him to pass out, she decided to keep moving.

Turning a corner, she crouch-walked to a rocky slope that looked easy enough to climb. Lydia took a hold onto a secured, medium-sized boulder and hoisted herself up to ascend the rock-wall. She climbed about ten feet before finally reaching the top. _Jeez, there has got to be an easier way of getting up there._ To her right, she suddenly heard the agonizing yell of a male. _Oh thank god, I thought I would have to climb some more._

"Kaz, I'm close. I'll let you know when I secure the target."

"Be careful."

Lydia crouch-walked toward the building about ten meters away. She pressed her back against a wall of the building and noticed there was heavy breathing coming from the second story. Looking around, Lydia observed there was a small window with no glass - must've been how the sound was leaking out. Soon hearing someone approaching from behind her, she decided to make a break for it.

Lydia sprinted around the building and climbed through the window. She softly landed on her feet. She took out her lethal pistol from her left pocket and steadied it at the ready when another scream came from the top of the stairs. She could hear someone walking through the creaky wood flooring. _This guy sounds bad ass, let's just hope that he doesn't resist too much. Man…who am I kidding?_ Lydia sighed quietly to herself. Making sure to avoid loose spots on the wooden stairs, she carefully made her way up into the second story.

Once there, she was confronted with the choice of picking two rooms. From the sound of the horrific screaming, the left door was the winner. _He just HAD to be behind a door. Shit._ Lydia looked to the right door. If anything, she would sneak around, see if there was any other way into the goal-room. Slowly opening the door to the room on the right, she crept in, retaining her crouching position. The room was empty with a lone window leading outside. Lydia stood up and calmly walked to the only other way out. As she poked her head out she deduced that the coast was clear. Below her was a wooden canopy that lead to the objective area. It looked secure enough for her to walk on. Lydia reached into one of her pockets and placed the goggles back over her eyes for extra identity cover. She abandoned the room and carefully strode her way to the adjacent room.

Keeping her head out of view, the projection of the man's panting was flowing out toward her…meaning that Shalashaska was facing away from the window… _hopefully_. Lydia lifted her head to peek into the room; her assumptions were correct. The man standing still in the middle of the room was dressed in a dark brown shirt and had long blonde hair, mixed with silver strands that fell to the base of his neck. That was about as far as she got when her eyes shifted from the back of Shalashaska to a severely injured man bound in a metal chair. He was bloody, some skin was torn off of his chest and his cheek was split open. But, boy, his eyes were working _just fine_! His eyes shifted to her in the window…which quickly made her lift her index finger to where her lips would be if not covered by the scarf.

The prisoner looked at the man dressed in western clothing and said something in Russian. He spat blood at his feet, making Shalashaska growl at his insolence. He delivered a strike to the man's temple that knocked him out instantly. This was her chance! Lydia pushed herself through the window and held her lethal gun up. "Don't move." She announced her presence in a deeper voice. If he knew that she was a woman, he might feel less threatened.

Lydia slowly approached the man, keeping her gun steady. She noticed he had a revolver attached to a shoulder strap that extended to his back. Not acquiescing to her request, the man turned around, pulled out the revolver from his back and another from a holster that was attached to his hip. Lydia raised her gun higher, ready to shoot when she was met with twin barrels of revolvers. She glanced from the barrels to the face of the man that stood before her.

His facial features struck familiarity within her but she stayed on her guard. He spoke Russian to her as he refused to let down his guard.

"I don't speak Russian, asshole." She saw his eye twitch in annoyance.

"You should watch your mouth." His voice was deep and had a slight southern twang to it. From the look of it, through her hazed goggles, his long graying blonde hair was slicked back from falling into his face. Age looked good on him.

"You're coming with me." She demanded in her 'male-like' voice.

He flipped the revolver in his right hand, throwing the left one in the air. He started an impressive, yet familiar, juggling routine. _No fucking way, IS that Ocelot?_ She squinted her eyes trying not to get distracted. Her sight moved from the revolvers then back to the man's face. Lydia started to shuffle away from the window, moving left. Her left leg started to limp more under the pressure; but she kept her eyes on the man and his revolvers. One of the guns stopped in his right hand, before she could register, her pistol was shot out of her grasp. "Fuck!" She exclaimed, surprised at the strength of the projection. The moment she saw the second revolver stop, she rolled to dodge a second bullet aimed for her head. She pulled out her tranquilizer gun and pulled the trigger. The pin landed right in his neck, but all he did was laugh at the impact.

"That doesn't work on me." He said cockily. "And I'm not going to take my time any more." _I've got to get closer to him, I'm a sitting duck right here. If I don't move now, I'm gonna die._ Lydia lunged forward and to her surprise the man holstered his guns, taking a classic CQC stance. He caught her right arm, twisting it behind her back. Before she could move her left arm, he held it uncomfortably over her head. "Stop struggling." He hotly whispered into her ear. The man took her ear piece between his teeth, ripped it off of her ear, then spat it across the room. Keeping a strong hold on her, he walked Lydia to the nearest wall and smothered her against it. "That's my _girl_. Now…" He paused, getting close to her right ear again. "Who sent you?"

"Fuck you."

"You guessed what would happen to you if you don't answer me." He pressed her against the wall harder. "So come on… _let_ me ask you again." Lydia's eye twitched at the taunt. He brought her left arm down so he could hold both her wrists in his right hand. At this motion, she saw the glint of her lethal pistol a few feet away. _Come on Lydia, think of something. Get the god damn gun._ His left hand made its way to the back of her head and began to fondle with the knot of the scarf. While his guard was down she managed to place her right foot on the wall in front of her, pushing the both of them back. As she forcefully extended her leg, she and Shalashaska plummeted to the ground.

As gravity took hold, he let go of her wrists to catch himself. Once planted, Lydia rolled off of him and lunged towards her gun. She wrapped her hand around the hilt then pivoted on her left leg to face him. A loud gun-shot exploded followed by a familiar sting in her left thigh. The feeling of a revolver's bullet was one she never wanted to experience. The bullet ripped through her thigh and into the wooden flooring. Previously carrying all the weight on her left leg, she crashed to the ground grunting in pain.

"Ahhhhh mother FUCKER." _AGAIN WITH THE FUCKING LEFT LEG._ Before she could roll over and possibly get a clean shot at him, the bottom of Shalashaska's boot clashed with her back, pinning her under his weight.

"That's _enough_." He ordered, kneeling down on her back. The knee of his right leg was painfully resting on her right bicep. His hands returned to the knot of her red scarf and eventually untied it. The red fabric was pulled by one end and snaked its way from her face. He placed the scarf to the side then grasped the goggles and ripped them off of her head. She closed her eyes at the roughness and moved her left arm to try and grab him. Shalashaska violently smacked her arm away then gripped her left thigh; making a tsunami of pain radiate from the open wound. She refused to scream, she didn't want to give him that satisfaction. "Now you're going to tell me everything I want to know. Trust me…" He gripped her leg tighter, making her bite her bottom lip. "That would be in your best interest."

"I've already been through torture, buddy. You can't break me."

"Is that an invite?" Lydia opened her eyes, looking at the battered man tied in the chair. Poor bastard.

"Give me all you got." Shalashaska scoffed at the request and grabbed ahold of her scarf that he placed on the ground. He gripped her hair that was tied back in her pony tail and jerked it back. He let go of her hair and not soon after, the scarf was violently tightened around her neck. Holding on to both ends, Shalashaska was twisting the scarf tight to the point where she couldn't breath. Out of nowhere, something made his hold on the scarf cease and caused him to move off of her. When he let go, Lydia let out a loud gasp and a few irregular coughs, trying to get as much air as she could back into her lungs.

She was too weak to move. Blood was still seeping out from her leg and she was losing consciousness fast. Shalashaska quickly threw the scarf away from her. His gloved hand gently touched the right side of her neck. His thumb trailed behind her ear and followed the discoloring of the scars that travelled their way down her nape. She was fading in and out of consciousness, trying to focus on the red scarf that had been thrown across the room. Once Lydia closed her eyes, he gently flipped her over on her back with his right arm wrapped around her shoulders. His left hand caressed her right cheek then ran his thumb against the faint scar across her cheek bone. Seemed he was taken aback by something.

"Look at me." He wasn't so demanding this time. "Dammit, you better open your eyes right now." This time slightly mad. Lydia sighed, slowly opening her eyelids. Her bright green's met the familiar cold blue eyes she hadn't seen in years. His face was now clear and held that stupid grin he used to flash to her every now and then. "Hey there, stranger." _Adam…_

"I knew it…" She breathlessly laughed before passing out.

Who knows how much time had passed before she woke up. Lydia jolted her eyes open, and felt that she was on a cushion of some kind. Her eyes floated around the area. She was in a plain concrete room. There were no decorations and it looked like there was a used medical kit on the floor next to her. "Ugh." Lydia groaned while she slowly sat up. She brought her right hand up to her neck and massaged it. Her eyes landed on her naked bandaged leg. _Wait…?_ She looked down to discover the lower half of her body was only garbed with her cotton undies. _Where the hell are my pants?_ At this moment, the only door unlatched and opened. In the doorway was Shalashaska holding two ceramic cups.

"Looks like you're finally awake." He kicked the door shut and continued to walk closer to her. The sound of his spurs were almost comical. She sassily raised her eyebrow, sizing him up.

"You threaten to rape me, shoot me in the leg, choke me out, and then bring me coffee. What the fuck? It's like you _know_ me or something." Lydia rolled her eyes.

"And you say nothing about your missing pants." He held out the hot cup for her to take from his left hand.

"Nothin' you haven't seen before, Adam." She reached out, took the cup and glanced inside at the dull liquid. "Why did I expect it _not_ to be black." Shalashaska chuckled, walking to the corner of the room. He grabbed a metal chair and placed it by the couch. "I heard that this Shalashaska was quite the sadist. You live up to your reputation." She took a sip of the strong coffee. He sat down on the chair, rested his feet on the edge of the couch's arm rest, and crossed his left leg over his right.

"Well, what can I say? I've been up to no good." He then motioned to her leg with the glass mug. "Sorry 'bout that."

"Oh this?" She comically pointed to her leg. "Pshhhhhhh, it only cries to be shot at every now and then. No big deal."

"Right." He rolled his eyes. "Why were you after me, Lydia? I convinced myself I would never see _you_ again. You're lucky scars run deep or you would be dead right now." His southern accent was…did he pick that up on his own or what?

"Yikes." Lydia muttered. "Well…did you want the story in a nutshell? Or do you want the full thing?"

"Whatever's appealing." _At least that's better than 'humor me'._ Lydia wanted to laugh, but this was no time for small talk.

"Snake." Lydia took a sip of the hot coffee, getting right to the point. "You know where he is. My PF have been trying to track you down for a _long_ time."

"And you want _me_ to tell _you_?" He planted his feet on the floor. "What's in it for me?"

"I see that you're still good with your guns…and that you've gotten a _lot_ better with CQC. Enough so you kicked _my_ ass." He chuckled at the compliment. "As I mentioned before, I'm part of a PF. We call ourselves Diamond Dogs. We need another leader and I think you could help fill that spot in the Boss' place. Upon his return, whenever he _decides_ to wake up, you can be our troops' tactical instructor."

"Not gonna lie, that's _very_ convincing. You've always been good with your words." He placed his coffee cup on the ground. "I have other parties I have loyalties with. I have to keep up my identity to keep Snake safe."

"Trust me, Adam. I don't doubt your double, triple, or quadruple-agent skills. All that matters is that you're faithful to Snake and you want to keep him alive…just as much as I do." Lydia set down her cup on the floor and held out her right hand for a deal. "You're a hard man to find; don't let my journey be for nothing. What's it gonna be?"

"It's been over ten years and I still have a soft spot for you." He held out his right hand, taking a hold onto Lydia's. "You drive quite the bargain and now we have a common goal."

"Phew." Lydia let go of Adam's hand as she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "I'm happy you said 'yes'. If you said no I would've had to come up with a plan to pull you through the worst guilt trip of your _life_."

"You're _hilarious_." He rolled his eyes as he reached into his pant pocket. He pulled out the iDroid and the receiving ear-piece. "Here."

"Thanks. If you don't mind I gotta check back in." She nervously chuckled to herself placing the ear clip back into her right ear.

"Go right ahead." He bent down and grabbed his cup of coffee.

"Thanks, _Ocelot_." Lydia tapped the outgoing call button on her ear piece to send Kaz her signal. "Kaz? Kaz come in."

"Lydia, thank God. It's been a whole day! What happened?! Are you hurt?!" He sounded like a category four hurricane with three-hundred mile-per-hour winds of concerned anger.

"Calm down. I'm ok." Her eyes turned to Adam. "I found Shalashaska and he's on board."

"Calm d-?! Did he hurt you?"

"Ehhh you know me. Can't go down without a fight."

"God dammit Lydia."

"It's alright, water under the bridge. Turns out, he's actually an old friend of mine." She finally admitted to him.

"…" For the first time in their whole time of knowing each other, there was silence over the comm. Lydia frowned at the empty air.

"Don't worry about me, I trust him with my life."

"Your _life_ …in the hands of a _sadist?_ Do you know how _crazy_ you sound!? Come home!" Before she had time to respond, the call was disconnected. Lydia sighed at Kaz's furious tone and glanced at Adam.

"So you coming back with me?"

"Not today. I'll be in contact with you and your people." Adam stood up and walked to the med kit on the ground. He knelt down, shuffling around supplies. Lydia witnessed him pull a syringe out of the tin case.

"Um, what's that for?" Her eyes widened the more he messed with it.

"Pain killer." He said nonchalantly grabbing a glass bottle of some liquid. "What happened to 'trusting me with you life'?"

"Oh haha." Lydia rolled her eyes. Adam knelt beside the couch and readied the syringe. She rolled up her sleeve, waiting for him to prick her.

"I'm not giving you enough for an overdose, but you might get a little dizzy. This'll keep you square until you make it to your LZ…wherever that may be. Whenever you're ready, just walk out that door and keep heading south. You should be clear a hundred meters out."

"Sending a cripple out on her own, huh? What a gallant man you are." Holding her arm out, he disinfected it with a disposable cloth, then held onto her wrist with his left hand.

"Ready?" He rested the needle on the skin opposite of her elbow.

"Can you seriously find a vein without tying it off?"

"I'm a master of interrogation, _Lydia_. I know the location of every major vein in the body."

"That's a little-" He guided the needle into her skin, releasing the meds into her bloodstream. "Uncomfortable." She finished and raised her eyebrow when a smug look etched its way across his face. "Stop looking like you're enjoying yourself. You're creeping me out."

"Heh. You have _no_ idea." Letting go of her wrist with his left hand, he grabbed a nearby gauze; and placed it atop the injection site. Once the needle left her body, he gripped her arm and put enough pressure on the obstructed vein. "You wanna hold that?" Lydia hummed then placed her hand over his, making sure to keep the pressure. He slowly removed his hand and tossed the syringe in a random direction. "While you were passed out, I went ahead and attended to your bullet wound. I didn't hit your bone by the way, but it tore through some of your muscle."

"I'm not surprised. I already have a perma-limp in that leg anywaaaaaa-" Ocelot became blurry. Lydia's brain felt like it was swimming around in her skull. "Adaaam." She moaned out. _A little dizzy, my ass. Something tells me that wasn't a pain killer. God you're so stupid, Lydia._ Her body became limp; her head fell back against the cushion of the couch. Her eyes followed Ocelot slowly making his way to her. His hand wrapped around the gauze; she could feel the pressure of his strong grip through her own hand that kept the gauze in place. Her eyes didn't leave his face. Although it was blurry, his attention wasn't swaying from her arm.

"Sleep good." His head then tilted to look her in the eyes until her lids became heavy.

* * *

 **OCELOT**

Watching her eyes close and sleep take over was one of the last things he wanted to see from his old _friend_. He let go of her hand that was holding onto the gauze. Looking around, he spotted the iDroid on the floor. He picked it up and turned on the screen. _Fancy._ He couldn't help but think. Searching his way through the complicated menu, he found a way to select an LZ. There was a sound of confirmation, which was his queue to get Lydia out to her destination. Sighing, he stood up, placed the iDroid in his pocket, and grabbed her folded cargo pants that were hidden to the side of the couch. He slowly dressed her, making sure to be careful around her left thigh. Ocelot wrapped his right arm under her knees and the other around her back, hoisting her off the couch. "You've gotten heavier since I carried you last." That was a lie. He wanted to hear her classic, witty comebacks but he robbed that luxury from himself.

Kicking open the door, He walked out into the dark surroundings. The moon was bright enough for him to navigate around the camp. Ahead of him, he noticed a soldier on duty. _"You."_ He spoke in Russian. _"Lead me to the nearest vehicle, I'm taking this traitor where no one can find her."_ The soldier saluted him and started to lead him to a near-by jeep. Once there, the soldier bid him farewell and resumed his patrols.

Ocelot carefully placed her in the passenger side of the jeep, then buckled her in for the bumpy ride ahead. He walked around the front and hopped in, striking the engine. Lightly stepping on the gas, he began the journey to the landing zone. As he followed the dirt road, her head fell onto his shoulder. Everything in his mind told him to look. If he were to gaze upon her now he would probably drive them both off the road.

* * *

 _October 1, 1964_

 _Sleep was hard to come by. It had been a number of days since Operation Snake Eater and the deportation of Lydia. She really got the short end of the stick - it was almost comical. It was aggravating how often she was on his mind. He felt a longing to see her again. A reunion like in the movies._

 _The CIA had only obtained half of the Philosopher's Legacy…soon he would have to go find and secure the other half from the KGB. But he could put a hold on that. The US had the blueprints for their toy. Why the rush on the Legacy?_

 _Ocelot wrapped his hand around the neck of the land-line telephone placed in his hotel room in Munich, Germany. He dialed internationally and inputted FOX's coded number. Ocelot could hear the phone un-hook from the other side with silence. "From Russia With Love." He spoke. There was a brief hold-time before he was connected securely to the man he was looking for. "Major?"_

 _"_ _Oh, Ocelot." Zero responded._

 _"_ _I'm wanting to know where Lydia is."_

 _"_ _Lydia?" He listened to Zero chuckle pompously on the other line. "She's long gone, Ocelot."_

 _"_ _What do you mean? I know you know where she is." Ocelot argued._

 _"_ _Now, now, Ocelot. You can't track someone down when you have other roles to play." Zero simply spoke. His demeanor was pissing him off. "If you find her, she'll be compromised. Besides, she'll live the best life away from here and without you in it." Ocelot clenched his free hand into a fist. "You know how talented she is. She can survive on her own." Ocelot remained quiet. "Did I…strike a nerve?"_

 _He knew Zero was right. She was long gone. Why would she want to seek him out if she was going to start living her own life? He touched his lips with his left hand, remembering how they felt the last time they had touched. "No." Ocelot finally responded._

 _"_ _It would serve you best to simply…forget all about her. You will never see her again."_

* * *

Ahead, Ocelot heard the whirring blades of a helicopter. _Great, almost there._ Going off road, he weaved through a few rocks and drove their way up a small hill. On the other side was the helicopter. He stepped on the breaks and turned off the engine. Twisting in his seat, he gripped onto Lydia's shoulders and sat her up so she wouldn't fall over again. "Here we go." Ocelot made his way out of the car and eventually picked up Lydia in the same fashion as before. He kept his eyes on the hovering chopper until he got close. The chopper descended to the ground for him to board. "Here she is!" Ocelot shouted at the pilot.

"My commander said someone might be tagging along!" The pilot yelled back. "Are you coming with?" Ocelot gently placed Lydia into the helicopter. He jumped up into the craft himself then secured her in one of the many seats on-board. "What's wrong with her anyway?!"

"I gave her Rohypnol. She should be out for at least twelve hours." He shouted. "Get her back safe! Tell your _commander_ I'll be in touch!"

"You got it!" Ocelot jumped out of the aircraft, signaling the pilot to take off with his 'signature' motion. The gust from the blades whipped his hair around as the helicopter ascended from the ground.

Watching the transport disappear from sight, he couldn't help but sigh at the unfortunate reunion. "Still pretty annoying." Ocelot shook his head side to side, letting out a quiet laugh. He had to admit, feeling _her_ body break under his weight was a thrill all in itself…

* * *

 **KAZUHIRA**

"An old _friend_ , huh?" Kaz frustratingly smoothed his hair back with his hands. "Are you kidding me?" He recollected the conversation that had happened between him and Lydia a few hours ago. Kaz dropped his arms and focused on the ceiling. He let out a heavy sigh when he heard a high-pitched beep coming from the radio he shared with Kazuo. Letting a Japanese expletive escape his mouth, he walked into the hall and across a few tiles to the room parallel to theirs. "I'm right out here Kazuo." _It's five in the morning, what does he want?_ Kaz scanned the key-card and walked into the room to catch Kazuo crawling out of his bed.

He looked so adorable with his feet barely touching the ground! "Whoa, whoa, whoa there little man." Kaz jogged to his son to save him from a potential fall. He wrapped his hands under Kazuo's arm-pits and gently placed him flat on the ground.

"Thank you daddy." He reached up and rubbed his exhausted, bright, blue eyes.

"You're very welcome, son." Kaz knelt down, observing his sons' face. His hair was a mess! Kaz reached up his hand and brushed his son's hair back with his fingers. "There, now you don't look so crazy."

"Can I go potty in your bathroom?" He tiredly pouted, almost making Kaz laugh.

"I don't see why not, let's take you to the bathroom then." Kaz stood up straight, only to see that Kazuo was holding his arms up for Kaz to carry him. Kaz couldn't help but smile and kneel back down to look his son in his eyes. "You want to be like daddy, right?"

"Mmmhmm." The boy nodded his head, bringing his arms down to his sides.

"If you wanna be like daddy, you have to _walk_ to the potty now. That'll show daddy that you're a big boy and can go potty all by yourself."

"Ok daddy." Kazuo smiled, jogging past his father and straight toward the door. Kazuo stood up another time, watching his son attempt to jump up and press the red release button to exit the room. "Daddy! Press it!"

"I will, I will." Kaz pressed the button; just as the door opened Kazuo bolted out and across the hall toward Kaz's room. "Slow down Kazuo." All he did was laugh. That kid. With everything that's going on in the world, he remained so innocent…untouched by the morbid events in every nation.

Kaz scanned open his door then watched Kazuo immediately fly into his bedroom. "Daddy I want to show you!" He emerged himself in the bathroom.

"You're a big boy, right?" Kaz reiterated.

"Yes!"

"You show me you can go potty by _yourself_." Kaz sat on the foot of his bed.

"Daddy! I can't reach the potty!" Kaz sighed.

"Well, where's the stool we keep in here, son?" Kazuo ran back out of the bathroom and instantly dived under the bed! Kaz wanted to laugh at the little grunting noises Kazuo was making while trying to pull his step-stool out from under the bed. Not a moment later, Kaz heard a light thump on the metal frame followed by Kazuo's voice.

"Ow." Kazuo wined. Kaz leaned over the side of the bed as Kazuo finally emerged himself with the stool.

"You ok there, little man?"

"I'm not little!" Kazuo placed his right hand on top of his head then dragged the stool into the bathroom with his left. _He's getting tougher every day. At least he's been potty trained for a while now, diaper-changing days are officially over._ Kaz smiled to himself. Kazuo walked out of the bathroom a few moments later with the biggest smile Kaz had ever seen! "Done!" Kaz gave his son a round of applause, causing the little guy to run up and latch onto his father's legs.

"Good job Kazuo." He slouched his back and kissed Kazuo on top of the head. "I guess you just earned yourself some breakfast!"

"Can I have peanut butter?"

"Not all by itself." Kaz pried Kazuo's arms off of him then stood up. "What other things do you eat peanut butter with?"

"Umm." Kaz opened the automated door, having Kazuo follow him out into the hallway. Kazuo put his small hand to his chin, attempting to conjure the words up. "Bread?"

"That's right. And what does mommy eat it with?"

"Jelly?"

"What color is it?"

"Blue!"

"No. Think again."

"Umm…" Kaz opened the door that led out to the open platform. Kazuo was the first to walk out, still deep in thought on what color grape jelly was.

"Is the word lost in translation?"

"Red!"

"Nope. One more strike and you're out." Kazuo was almost there, if you mix those two together…

"Purple?"

"You got it!" Kaz smiled. He latched onto his son from behind, lifted him up and placed him over his shoulders.

"Purple!" Kazuo clarified proudly.

"I knew you had it in you. Now duck your head, I don't want you to get hit." Kaz spoke, about to walk out the automated door leading to the outside world.

Kazuo crunched up as much as he could until he was free to sit up straight again. "Where's mommy?" Kazuo spoke up again once on the base-level.

"Mommy is out doing grown up things." Kaz hid a sour look that was about to creep up to his face. "She'll be home soon." He couldn't help but let out a disappointed sigh in memory of their recent conversation. Kazuo was more hyper than usual this morning, he was pointing out random things on Mother Base, either telling Kaz what the item was or what color it happened to be. Kazuo was getting smarter by the day, only proving he was definitely the byproduct of Kaz and Lydia.

Upon reaching the mess hall, Kaz pulled his son off his shoulders and placed him on the hard surface of the cafeteria. "Commander, sir!" The few soldiers that were chowing down stood up from their seats and saluted him.

"At ease." Kaz waved his hand for them to cut out the formalities. Kazuo laughed and ran a few steps ahead, suddenly turned around, then saluted his right hand to his forehead! It's like the whole cafeteria was just hit with the nuclear bomb of cuteness.

"OH LITTLE MILLER!"

"MY HEART!"

"AWHHHHHH!"

"YOU GO LITTLE MILLER!"

Kazuo dramatically ended the salute and placed his arm back to his side. "At ease, _Daddy_." Kazuo turned around and instantly ran to the assembly line to get his well-deserved breakfast. Kaz couldn't help but form a half-smile and shake his head at his son's attempt to copy him. A few chuckles escaped his lips before turning his head to the crowd in the cafeteria who were still adoring over the three-year-old.

"Commander Miller?" A female sounded off from his right. Kaz looked from Kazuo to the saluting woman. "Pequod is approaching the landing platform."

"Thank you." His attention turned back to his son and then snapped back to the soldier at her next piece of information.

"He requested a stretcher for your wife."

"A _what_? Is she hurt that bad?"

"I'm not sure, sir." Kaz sighed, his anger filling up in his belly. "Ok. What's your name?"

"Raging Eagle, Sir."

"I trust you to take Kazuo back to the recreation room until I come to get him." He hated gifting his son to another person, but this was necessary.

"Mission underway, sir!" The woman marched to Kazuo to keep him company as he was getting food. Kaz soon made his way to the helicopter landing pad. He saw the chopper closing in over the horizon. Behind him he heard the sound of the medical staff roll up a stretcher for Lydia.

A few minutes later, Pequod landed on the platform. The pilot moved from his chair and toward the cabin. Kaz walked to the helicopter's entrance and opened the cargo door, revealing the sight of his wife passed out in Pequod's arms. She wasn't moving, she was pale…everything that looked like death was plastered all on her face. Kaz's stomach started to flip when he held out his arms involuntarily. "Give her to me." He ordered angrily as Pequod slid her torso in his grasp. Kaz wrapped his left arm under her knees and his right under her shoulders.

Once rested up against his chest, he felt her soft breath on his neck, making him sigh with some kind of relief. "Lydia Miller, you are so gonna get it when you wake up." He moved to the portable stretcher and gently placed her on it. Kaz only stood and watched the men wheel her away. He placed his right hand over his forehead, rubbing his temples at an attempt to pull his nerves together. _She is going to be the death of me if she keeps doing this._ Kaz's deep thought was interrupted by Pequod.

"Commander, I have something to inform you."

"Go ahead." Kaz didn't turn around to face him, trying his best to keep calm.

"The man that placed her in the chopper said he gave her drugs to knock her out. If I remember correctly, he gave her Rohypnol. Then he said that she should be out for at least twelve hours."

"Rohypnol?! Twelve hours?!" His blood was boiling! Did that bastard so dare as to touch _his_ wife? He couldn't think about that possibility, but now that Pequod brought it up, there was no doubt that sexual assault could have happened. Kaz released an angry grunt and stomped of to the small med-bay. Upon his arrival, he found the small room where the staff was attending to Lydia. Kaz took it upon himself to walk in without permission to demand her status.

"Commander, just in time. We just finished looking at her. The most concerning injury is a gunshot wound to her left thigh." The doctor pulled down the white sheets to reveal the lower half of her body. The injury was bandaged, but he could tell it was only a flesh wound. Kaz walked to the right side of the bed and looked down at Lydia's resting face. He placed his aviator glasses atop his head and drifted his eyes to her neck. Around her neck was a dark red bruise where she was choked with some kind of object.

"It looks like she was restrained by the neck, as you can see. The struggle didn't last long but the bruise is going to be sensitive from the force that was applied. If you look at her wrists, there are also small bruises where she was held. One last bruise is there on her right bicep." Kaz's eyes moved to Lydia's right arm as the man talked and saw the ghastly dark blue bruise forming it's way around her arm. "We're not too sure what the cause of that one is, but that's it for the immediate wounds."

"Did you run a blood test?"

"Yes. We found traces of strong painkillers and rohypnol." Kaz sneered and looked at her abdomen. From there he raised his head and looked at the doctor.

"So?" His voice was getting dangerous. "Did you find anything _else_?"

"We ran a rape kit on her. There were no traces of forced entry of any kind." Kaz tilted his head to look at Lydia's face again.

"You lucked out this time."

"She certainly did, the levels she was given are good enough to keep her out for at least twelve hours."

"I know." Kaz moved his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose. "Dammit, let me know when she wakes up. I have a kid to take care of."


	61. Chapter 61

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise!**

 **Author's Note: WHAT A RIDE, LADIES AND GENTLEMAN. Good news, my dad is OK. Now that he's moving around again and doesn't need a lot of assistance, it's back to writing! :) I'm glad to be back! And thank you all for your kind words, patience, and just overall loveliness. This chapter kind of ends on a cliffhanger, but I needed to end it somewhere...otherwise this chapter would've been 15,000 words. And that's just...a lot lmao. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy!**

 **I also got a PM asking about fan ar** **t! If you want to draw anything related to this story, draw to your heart's content! If you have a tumblr my tumblr is sofaloafathings! Feel free to tag me in your arts :3**

 **CaptainMc -** We've BOTH been waiting for Ocelot since FOREVER. So many chapterssssssssss later we finally get him!

 **Levolutioner -** Yes! I'm so happy you enjoyed it 3 I love writing Ocelot and to start writing his character again felt so damn good! He's going to be in the story a LOT more from here on out!

 **yesdudes -** YES DUDES. Blessed with Ocelot's presence. That was one spicy fight *Italian hands*

 **scottusa1 -** WELCOME! I'm so happy you've enjoyed the journey! :) Hope you enjoy it now, as well!

 **Guest K -** Kaz = hypocrite lmao xD I'm so happy you enjoyed the chapter! There's some tasteful Ocelot and Miller interactions in a few chapters so keep your eye out! BUT OMG R U OK?! D:

 **Guest (M) -** I'm so happy you enjoyed Ocelot's return, too! We're getting so close to my "Chico" arc, I do hope that you enjoy it! 3

 **Side Note* Contemplating on if I should upload two chapters today? MAYBE? *Maybe-ing intensifies***

 ****MATURE CONTENT WARNING** Sexual content (A smidge), Mentions of rape, Mentions of torture**

* * *

"Look at us baby, up all night.

Tearing our love apart.

Aren't we the same two people who live

Through years in the dark?

Every time I try to walk away,

Something makes me turn around and stay.

And I can't tell you why."

-The Eagles

* * *

 **LYDIA**

When Lydia opened her eyes, it felt as if she had gotten the best sleep in her entire life. Her first instinct was to reach up and rub her eyes, only to be met by an uncomfortable prick in her arm. "Huh?" Lydia examined the surroundings of a small medical room on the Command platform. "I must be back home." She sighed with relief.

"Welcome back." Lydia's head turned to the door to be greeted by someone from the Medical staff. "The commander wanted to know when you were awake, did you want me to call him? You've been out for quite some time."

"Oh…have I?" Lydia scratched the top of her head with her left hand.

"Yes. You were given a high dosage mix of rohypnol and a multitude of pain killers. Enough to knock you out cold but not over-dose." The doctor stepped forth and recorded her vitals on some kind of chart.

"Rohypnol?" Lydia raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't raped, was I?"

"No, not this time."

"Good." Lydia sighed with relief. "Well, let the commander calm down a little more. Then you can tell him that I'm awake." While she was talking, the doctor raised up his own iDriod and pressed a button.

"You can't run from this one. You should see your husband."

"You paged him just now, didn't you?" Lydia looked down at the white sheets, slightly disappointed at the situation and herself.

"I'll leave you be." Almost right after the doctor walked out, Kazuhira waltzed in with his classic angry look. He walked to the side of her bed and peered into her eyes through his aviators.

"Hey." Lydia looked down, not wanting to make eye contact.

"Explain." He said as calmly and demanding as he could. Lydia leaned back into the bed and sighed.

"Kaz, I'm sorry."

"Dammit, Lydia. I don't want to hear 'sorry' right now." Kazuhira leaned over her and planted his hands on the mattress on either side of her body. He was hovering, succeeding at making her feel guilty and uncomfortable. "I want answers… _now_." She knew all the questions he had running through his mind. It was time to come clean.

"Adam." She spoke softly. Kaz leaned closer.

"What?" He questioned back. She could make out his angry eyes through his glasses.

"It was Adam." She said a little louder. Kaz stood up straight and took his sun glasses off, placing them on top of his head.

"Who's _Adam_?" Lydia rested her left hand on top of her right shoulder. Kaz was breathing faster, he was obviously getting short-tempered.

" _Ocelot_." Lydia paused and looked at Kazuhira in his blue eyes.

"You mean that guy that held you prisoner back in the sixties? _That's_ who you meant by ' _old friend_ '?"

"Y-yeah." Kaz groaned to himself at her clarification.

"Tch. I can't believe this."

"You're telling me." Lydia booted herself up. "Anyway…I got him to agree to tell us where Snake is. I struck a deal with him, rewarding him with being Diamond Dogs' tactical instructor in exchange for the information."

"When were you going to tell me this?" Kaz's face twitched. "Am I not part of your plans anymore?"

"Kaz, don't be like that."

"Be like _what_?" He snapped. "I can't deal with this…with _you_." It was then that he walked out of the area. He turned his back on her. Kaz had been more on edge lately. She got it…the mess up at the Central Command Center in Afghanistan and then the recollection of MSF seemed to followed him everywhere. Especially with inviting someone he didn't know to the base. There was no dropping those instances any time soon. Kaz held onto grudges and never let them go. Often with Kaz, it was better to ask for forgiveness rather than permission.

Day passed. _Weeks_ without word from Ocelot. Kazuhira barely spoke a word unless Kazuo was involved. Even with Kazuo, Kaz had become distant to the point where his son began to ask about him. "Where's dad?" Must have been every other question coming from their son's mouth. Lydia had been sleeping in Kazuo's bed which raised suspicion in her son as to why. She would dodge the question by telling him he needed some 'alone time'. Well, that explanation wasn't going to hold up for long with Kazuo…it was about time to confront Kaz about it. There's no way he could hold a grudge for this long, could he? Before Lydia started her day in her own office, she brought it upon herself to finally speak with Kaz. Lydia's facial features remained neutral as she made her way through the base to track him down.

Newly recruited Diamond Dogs were working away and building expansions for the lone command platform. Although slowly, the crew was growing. There was never a quiet moment on base as long as it remained under construction. Caution signs were plastered everywhere, cardboard boxes that once held supplies were thrown down at any given moment, cranes were being operated by the hour to lift up high beams and other hardware. It was a sign that their GMP was going to the right places for base development.

Lydia casually limped her way up a few flights of stairs before entering in the newest addition. It was a long, brightly lit hallway that was now home to part of the command team. The intelligence and base development teams shared this area, for now, until Diamond Dogs is able to afford to build their respective platforms. CP-344. Lydia stood in front of the entry-way for only a moment before activating the automated door and walking in.

Kazuhira's office spread out into a small-sized room. Just enough space for him to get his work done. There was a large desk in the middle of the room that held all of his work essentials. Papers were stacked and scattered all over the place. Some metal filing cabinets that were conveniently placed around the room were open…hence all the paperwork taking over Kazuhira's desk. The room was dimly lit, naturally. Kazuhira had only installed two ceiling mounted light fixtures in his office. Even still, he wore his dark aviator glasses to save himself from the potential headache.

He was sitting behind his messy desk and looked up only for a moment before returning his attention to the paper he held in his hand. "What do you want?" He asked with irritation riding through his voice. Lydia walked farther into the room and allowed the door to close behind her. She crossed her arms over her chest and shifted her weight on her right leg. Cocking her head slightly, Kazuhira didn't look at her.

"Kaz." She dropped her arms to her sides and rested her right hand on her hip. "Your son has been asking about you."

"And?" He questioned simply, without taking his eyes off the paper.

"He's wondering why you're no-" Lydia paused as she examined him take another paper into his hand. "Can you look at me while I'm talking to you?" Kazuhira's eye brow twitched. He scoffed through his lips at the question.

"Quite frankly, I don't want to look at you at all." Kazuhira sneered through his teeth. Lydia narrowed her eyes and marched over to his desk and placed her hands flat on top of two different stacks of papers before leaning over the width of the desk. Her muscles in her arms tightened as her fingers started to crinkle the papers below them.

"Look at me, Kazuhira." Lydia spoke slowly, attempting to hide the rage behind her voice. Her stomach was boiling with anger. He didn't budge. She stood for a few moments before dragging her hands off his desk and standing up straight. "Fine." She shrugged in defeat. "What do you want from me?"

"Nothing." Kaz answered quickly.

"Bullshit." Lydia answered without raising her voice. "I don't know why I did it, ok?" Lydia spread out her arms for a moment before returning them to her sides in defeat. "I had so many things going through my mind. I didn't know what the hell I was spewing out." Kazuhira sat quietly, still not looking at her. Her anger topped off. "Maybe I wanted to see him again. Maybe I asked him out of spite. Because I have a _husband_ who doesn't even look at me. You know, have someone in my life who doesn't freak out over small shit."

"Asking someone who I have no idea about to be an important part of Diamond Dogs is not a small feat." Kazuhira's voice raised over her's. There he was. He finally looked at her. He stood up from his chair and smoothly walked around his desk. He stopped when he was towering over her. A power-play. Lydia narrowed her eyes and looked up at him. "You're scarred, Lydia." Kazuhira spoke low enough to make her skin crawl. "The first sight of someone from your past and you do everything you can to keep them."

"What, and you can't say the same thing for yourself?" Lydia shook her head, struck with disbelief.

"Sometimes it's not for the best." Kazuhira spoke calmly, almost as if he had been rehearsing what he was saying to her. "Now get out." The words fell from his mouth like water flowing downstream. Lydia stared at him through his dark glasses. He didn't budge and neither did she. They stood in front of one another, having a silent conversation as they stared at one another. The aura in the room was tense. Lydia's green eyes fastened themselves on a single drop of sweat peeking out from Kaz's hairline by his right frame. His body tensed the more they looked at one another. Kazuhira Miller was nervous despite the facade he displayed.

Lydia only sighed and shifted her eyes from his face to his chest for only a moment before returning a softer look. "I'll go. When you want to talk, you know where to find me." Lydia slowly turned around. Step by step she walked back to the automatic door, regretting leaving things the way they were. She could tell the words hurt Kaz, even if they came out of his own mouth. Whether he regretted saying them, that's something Lydia would never find out or dare to ask. Not in the moment, at least.

Lydia wanted to ignore the dull smash that came from beyond the closed door. She wanted to turn around and see him, comfort her husband. But she caused him to be this way, isn't that right? What gave her that right? Lydia contemplated, resting her back against the automated door. She didn't want to leave him alone. Her bottom lip fastened itself between her teeth to stop the trembling.

There was nothing she could do. She betrayed his trust and not just this once. She kept secrets from the man who meant the most to her. Their first child, Emmerich…how would he react if she ever broke _that_ news. Her hands floated to the base of her ponytail and dragged out the black hair tie that held up her hair. She ran her fingers along her scalp, gripping hair between her fingers and pulled out of frustration.

Boss. Jack slithered across her mind. She could smell the cuban cigar brand smoke travel through the air. Lydia scoffed. Snake would kick her ass for getting herself into this mess. "I need a fucking Guinness." Lydia stuffed her hands into her pockets and walked away from the door.

She collected her secret stash of luscious Guinness beer before returning to her own small office to pick up her work. She cracked open the cold bottle of liquid and took a swig before setting it on her desk that looked nearly identical to Kaz's. Besides catching up with her husband, it happened to be weekly inventory day. Rations, ammo, construction supplies. The self-made inventory sheet stared at her from the hard-plastic clip-board that was begging to be held. No harm in downing this six-pack before moving on. Right?

Hours later and six beers deep, Lydia found herself finishing up the inventory count in the large walk-in freezer of the mess hall. She was marking down how much meats the crew had gone through. She had locked the door so no one would bother her and had been in the room for about ten minutes. "Man these guys eat so much beef. What the hell." Lydia marked on her papers and wrote a corresponding number to order an abundance of ground beef. "I think that's it." Lydia tapped the bottom of the pen to her lips before stuffing the pen into her right pant pocket. She stumbled lightly out of the freezer while looking over the inventory packet.

"Hey Sub-C, glad you didn't freeze to death in there. I was a little concerned with how long you were taking."

"Heh, tempting." Lydia shrugged. "But you're right that I'd rather die cold than hot…speaking OF hot. I'm going to go outside and warm up."

"You do that Sub-C." The kitchen worker held a thumbs up as she stumbled past him and out the door. She made her way to the base level of the platform. Lydia stepped toward the railing and set the clipboard down before leaning her forearms against the bright yellow bars. She folded her fingers over one another and stared out into the ocean, toward the setting sun.

The setting sun. Lydia's eye twitched. Sunsets. Something about the fiery sky made something in her set off. The setting sun reflected off the ocean below. The massive, rolling waves toppled over one another like they did every day. She shut her eyes, the taste of salt water filled her mouth as she felt a gag build up from her stomach. It churned as her mind spun in circles. When Lydia opened her eyes, she hurled her guts over the side of the base. Food for the fish…at least they didn't need to do any damn inventory check. Lydia wiped her mouth with her forearm and sat down, folding her arms over the middle bar and letting her legs dangle off the side.

As the tide rolled along, so did Lydia's mind. She stared down at the ocean from her seating position. If she fell, she would most certainly die. The impact would break her in two. Possibly painless. She would only feel the shrieking cold pain of the ocean hitting her skin before ultimately meeting her end.

She could see the night mist rolling in from the horizon. The bright orange and red sky beautifully tinted the clouds. Although it didn't beat the Costa Rican sunsets, this was certainly something to behold. " _Lydia_." A familiar voice swelled from behind her.

The sunsets were alway attracting _him_. "Do you still think I'm as beautiful as a sunset?" Lydia frowned as she stared to the horizon before she slowly craned her head to the side to look behind her. Nobody. "Great. Now I'm hearing things." She sighed to herself. The ringing of her iDroid surprised her enough to have her head jolt into the bar right above her. "Yikes." She inhaled and exhaled deeply, rubbing her head. "Lydia speaking." She answered the call.

"Hi, Mommy." It was Kazuo and his little voice travelled through her ear-piece. "I'm done with school now. Are you going to have another sleep-over?"

"You bet, kiddo. I'll be there after I turn some papers into your pop." She popped her lips together at the end.

"Pop? Like soda? Can you bring me some?" Lydia snorted as she kept in a cackle of laughter.

"No way, kiddo. It's too late in the day for so much sugar." Lydia smiled to herself as she slowly hoisted herself up to stand. "I'll see you soon, ok?"

"Ok mommy, bye." And just like that, her sweet little boy ended the transmission. Lydia knelt down next to the clipboard she had left on the ground and grabbed a hold of it. Not wanting to put it off any longer, she had to get the report to Kaz eventually.

Her leg hadn't been bothering her too much since coming back from Afghanistan. She couldn't wait for it to heal the rest of the way and get back onto missions. She was cooped up on Mother Base for far too long. Lydia eventually made her way back to Kazuhira's office space. She knocked a couple of times out of courtesy before opening the automated door. He was still cooped up behind his desk, this time signing off on papers. "I brought the supply order." Lydia quietly spoke, concentrating enough not to slip on her own words.

Kaz only looked up for a moment before returning his gaze back to the papers. But, something instantly made his head float back up to stare at her. He brought up his hand and lifted up his sunglasses to get a better look at her. "Have you been drinking?"

"Uhhh, no?" Lydia slurred, as she limped to the desk. "And I'm not stumbling, it's my leg." She sighed. Kaz dropped his glasses back over the bridge of his nose when a small smile cracked over his lips. Kaz outstretched his hand and took the clipboard from her grip. He was so handsome when he smiled.

"What's with all the beef?" Kaz questioned as he looked up at her.

"Well part of that is my fault, I don't _want_ any beef with you." Lydia frowned as slightly intoxicated tears pricked at her eyes.

"Not…ugh." Kaz tapped the top of the clipboard against his forehead before setting it on top of the desk. Kaz stood up and walked around the desk to stand before Lydia. She instantly rested her forehead on his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her. With an exasperated sigh, Kaz rubbed one of his hands up and down her back.

"I'm sorry." She shut her eyes. "I made a mistake."

"I know." Kaz returned. He moved his hands to her biceps and pushed himself away to look her in the eyes. "Don't let it happen again, got it? You're my wife, Lydia. We're supposed to confide in one another."

"Better or worse, right?"

"Better or worse." Kaz relayed. "Thank you for the inventory count." He squeezed her arms before letting her go. "I'll look it over." He leaned his butt against the desk and crossed his arms over his chest. "Anything else?"

"I love you?" Lydia shrugged with the unbudging frown refusing to move from her face.

"I know." He replied. "I've got a few more hours of work to do. You don't have to wait up for me." Lydia nodded. Feeling like a bag of bricks got dumped on her, she walked out of his office without saying another word.

Without stopping to talk with anyone either, Lydia emerged herself into Kazuo's room. He was laying down on the bed, propping his head up in his hands as he watched the portable television that Lydia was too lazy to remove from his room. Another western…this one Lydia didn't recognize. "What are you watching there, bud?" Lydia asked as she sat on the bed next to him.

"Magnificent Seven." Kazuo replied as he nearly tripped over the big word. "It's ok. I'm sleepy though." Not a moment later, Kazuo dropped his face on the mattress and comically passed out. Lydia snorted as she attempted with her entire being to not laugh. Lydia shifted herself off the bed and turned off the television. She walked to the side of the bed and reached out her arms to pick up Kazuo's sleepy form and lay him down so his head was resting on one of the pillows. She covered him up with the comforter and smiled to herself.

She thought of staying another night after about a month of not sleeping in her own bed. She wasn't sure if it was the alcohol telling her to return to her own room or if it was the matter that she missed her own bed. Lydia smiled softly before deciding to walk out of Kazuo's room and scan herself into her own. She stripped off her clothes and plummeted herself onto the bed, loving the feeling of the clean sheets on her naked body. Her skin shivered with goosebumps as she buried herself under the covers. Before she knew it, she was passed out almost as fast as Kazuo.

When Lydia opened her eyes, the clock read 02:00. Her eyelids felt as if they were holding a couple hundred pound weights. She heard the trickling of water coming from the restroom. Kaz must have finally returned. Lydia lolled her eyes shut before opening them again at 02:30 when she felt a weight push down on the bed and join her. Lydia turned to face Kaz, but was met with his back.

She stared at her husband for a while. Her eyes adjusted to his smooth skin that wasn't covered by the sheets. His muscles relaxed as he inhaled and exhaled. Lydia reached to him and gently ghosted her fingertips across his shoulder blades. His skin was slightly damp as she grazed his back softly.

Kazuhira sighed at her touch, but not in annoyance. Lydia's heart fluttered at the small action as she trailed her hand to the top of his shoulder. Her hand gripped around his shoulder and gently pushed him to his back as she shifted her weight to loom above him. She looked into his bright blue eyes before leaning into him and planting a kiss to his lips.

Kazuhira's left arm floated to Lydia's waist and dragged it up to the back of her head to deepen the exchange. Lydia moaned in response as she felt his tongue flick her bottom lip. Lydia parted her lips and moved her right leg slowly over his body to straddle him. As if on queue, Lydia began to move her hips back and forth over him, creating a pool of pleasure for them both. His hands travelled all over her torso, massaging her breasts, her ass, anything he could get his hands on. Lydia parted from him, slightly lifting herself up before Kaz reached down and adjusted his cock to enter into her.

As she gazed at him, he stared at her with an agape mouth, shakily breathing. He let her take the lead and move the way she wanted. The night rode on with heavy breathing entangled with pleasure. The last and only "I love you" was spoken by Lydia as she so desperately waited to hear those words back. But Kazuhira was silent. As silent as the dead ocean.

* * *

 **June 7th, 1980: 06:00**

Mother Base had long awaited any word from Ocelot, and to their long awaited anticipation, the bastard finally reached out the day prior with coordinates to retrieve him from a southern bay in South Africa. Lydia assigned herself to take on the mission to get him with Pequod. As the two of them approached the secluded bay, there was no one there. "Pequod, go ahead and land somewhere on the beach. He'll get here eventually." Lydia grabbed ahold of her favorite Burkov pistol and placed it in her holster. Lydia wore standard combat fatigues, khaki pant color with a black shirt under a tactical harness that held any items she might need just in case if Ocelot decided to turn tail.

Once Pequod landed, he turned off the engines. "Sub-C, it's about 06:07, I think we're a little early for him." Pequod called back. "We should sit and rest for a little while!"

"If you say so." Lydia responded. She opened the hatch and jumped out of the chopper before landing on the soft white sand. The tropical air instantly hit her in the face. Lydia saw a few penguins run up and down the beach, startled at the presence of the helicopter. _So cute._ Lydia thought to herself as she watched them waddle in and out of the water. _I need to bring Kazuo out here._ The beach was beautiful. Secluded and quiet. The sun was just beginning to rise and warm the sands.

"It sure is pretty out here!" Pequod jumped out of the aircraft and stood adjacent to Lydia.

"Yeah, but it's no Colombia." Lydia stretched her arms over her head.

"You used to live in Colombia?" He questioned with a smirk on his face. Lydia smiled and reminisced.

"I did for a while. I worked in a small coffee shop called Café de Madre Tierra on the Islas del Rosario."

"What? You were a barista? I can't imagine that." Pequod laughed. "You're so tough and _so_ not customer service."

"Excuse _you_ , Pequod, I was and still am the best barista there ever was. I'm just too busy with everything else to make a damn cup of coffee the way I want it." Lydia crossed her arms matter-of-factly. "If Boss hadn't found me, I would probably still be sitting on my ass and making coffee." Lydia shrugged as she stared out into the ocean.

"Ever want to go back?" He questioned.

"You're asking a lot of questions, aren't you?" Lydia turned her head slightly and raised an eyebrow.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude." Pequod scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. Lydia returned her gaze to the ocean. Sure she's thought about going back. Taking Kazuo with her. She thought about it more often in recent months…but that changed when Ocelot funneled himself back into her life. She found herself wanting to stick around for him, as hard as it was to even think that. Kazuhira didn't want her there. Hell, he hadn't told her he loved her in months. Lydia soon found herself not saying it either.

Pequod and Lydia fed small portions of the rations that were stowed away in the chopper to the crowd of penguins that weren't too far away. They were so cute fighting over food and waddling round. Pequod was nearly crippled over in laughter over the cuteness. Anything to pass the time. At around 07:00, the rumbling of a small jeep was approaching from afar. "Well, I think that's my queue. I'll fire her up." Pequod said as he stood up from a seating position and returning to the chopper.

Lydia rested her right hand on her hip, close to her pistol, as a precaution as she walked a few meters away from Pequod. Through the trail leading into the tropical foliage, a covered jeep soon bellowed out and came to a complete stop in front of Lydia. Through the windshield, she could see Ocelot grabbing a few things from the passenger seat before exiting the vehicle.

Lydia smiled to herself and approached the driver door. She wrapped her hand around the handle-bar and opened the door for Ocelot before he had the chance to. "And they say chivalry is dead." He shook his head and stepped out onto the beach. "Good to see you, Lydia." Ocelot's hair grew out a little longer since she last saw him, maybe about an inch or two so it fell just above his shoulders. A red scarf draped over his neck that complimented a light brown button up shirt. He wore a tan coat over his shoulders that dropped to the middle of his thighs. He equipped a dark brown tactical belt over his chest that held ammo and another through the belt loop of his pants, which holstered one of his revolvers. Similar to the gear he was in when they had reunited the first time. Ocelot also held a large duffle bag in his left hand. His right arm floated up and landed on her left shoulder. At the gentle squeeze, Lydia nodded.

"You too, Ocelot." She brought her right hand up to her left shoulder and placed her hand on top of Ocelot's before he removed it. "Your chariot awaits." She motioned toward the helicopter.

"Don't talk to me like that." Ocelot rolled his eyes and proceeded to walk to the helicopter. His spurs rattling with every step he took.

"Hey, you gonna do something about that jeep, cowboy?"

"Don't need to." He simply answered.

"Uhhhh, alright then." Lydia squinted her eyes before following him to the chopper. Ocelot looked at her over his shoulder and sized her up, noticing her limp.

"How's your leg?" He asked, throwing his bag into the cargo-hold.

"Healed, but my limp is more prominent now." Lydia shrugged. "What can I do though? At least I didn't lose it."

"True." Ocelot nodded his head in agreement. He entered the chopper and held out his hand for her to take. "Grab on."

Lydia reached up and took a hold of Ocelot's hand before entering into the aircraft. "Hey Pequod, let Mother Base know we're on our way back with the target."

"Yes ma'am!" Pequod pressed a few buttons in the helicopter before delivering the message. Lydia slid the cargo door shut and sighed to herself before sitting down across from Ocelot.

"I was beginning to think you were going to leave us high and dry." Lydia crossed one of her legs over the other. "What took you so long?"

"Patience is a virtue, Lydia." Ocelot shrugged. "I told you I would reach out, I'm here now, aren't I?" The chopper swayed as Pequod lifted off the ground.

"I suppose." She responded, grabbing onto something so she wouldn't topple out of her chair. "Well, we're in for a long ride. The last time we met, we didn't get the chance to talk."

"I'm more interested in your story." Ocelot urged. "What have you been doing all these years?" Ocelot laced his gloved fingers together and rested his elbows on his thighs, leaning in to listen to her.

"A lot." Lydia shrugged and noted his body language. He was interested. "Do you want it in a nutshell or the whole story?"

"Whatever's appealing." He grinned with soft eyes.

Lydia shook her head and scoffed. "A _lot_." Lydia reiterated, this time with a heaviness behind her. "I've come a long way from those peanut butter and jelly sandwich days. Are you _sure_ you want to hear it?"

"I see you still take a long time to start a story." Ocelot chuckled. "Lydia, I wouldn't be asking you if I didn't want to know."

"Right." Lydia chuckled. "Well, after I was deported, I went to Colombia and worked as a barista for a few years until Snake found me."

"Heh, I could see you working in a coffee shop." Ocelot cracked a smile. "You had a way with people, even back then. I could only imagine your tips."

" _See_ , Pequod?" Lydia leaned back into her chair and bragged. "Ocelot knows."

"Alright, alright." Pequod swiped his arm in the air, giving up.

"Yeah, I make a pretty damn good cup of joe. But then Snake found me and _then_ we found our commander, Kazuhira Miller, and _then_ we started our PF."

"Militaires Sans Frontières." Ocelot confirmed as his face scrunched up at the use of French words. "Seems like the whole world was after you."

"So it would seem." Lydia diverted her gaze toward the ground. "We built MSF from the ground up." Lydia clenched her right hand into a fist. "It all happened so fast." She unclenched her hand and brushed a few stray hairs behind her ear. "Everything was gone in an instant. And I was stranded on Jamaica without anything to my name except for my skills to make coffee." Lydia rushed through the story as she reminded herself of the miscarriage. "After I was able to get an out, I ended up finding Kazuhira again who was recruiting guys for a new PF. And now we're here." Lydia summarized and outstretched her arms.

"That was…quick." Ocelot sounded slightly disappointed. "Tell me about Miller." Ocelot said. "I don't know much about him except that he's an adept businessman."

"He's exactly that." Lydia spoke neutrally. "He can convince an eskimo to buy ice. He certainly has his way with words and doesn't appreciate bullshit especially when it's business related. If you don't get to the point and tip-toe around, he's going to definitely regret bringing you aboard…even if it has to do with Snake."

"Good to know."

"Yeah, he's a little bit of a hard-ass…but he's the reason why we're in a better base."

"We're heading to the Seychelles, right?"

"Yep." Lydia responded. "Just wait till you see it. We only have one platform, but it's pretty big. We have guys working on it every day. Not sure how long it'll take to finish it, but it really reminds me of what we had back in seventy-four."

"You've been through a lot." Ocelot leaned back into his seat.

"So, when I stumbled upon you a few months ago in that village…what were you doing there?"

"Oh, the man you saw me _interrogating_ was a spy. He was giving away Russian military plans to the Mujahideen. Seems like he has something personal against me now. Now that you bring it up, I should've killed him." Ocelot shook his head. "But instead I pitied him and now I can't find him."

"Your interrogation techniques…is that why they started calling you Shalashaska?" Lydia questioned curiously. "Our intel reported that you enjoyed torturing people…say how you tortured me, you were _totally_ enjoying that near the end."

"Lydia, you've been through torture, that was hardly what I'm capable of."

" _Hardly_?" Lydia let out a nervous chuckle. "I don't even want to imagine if I wasn't on your side."

Ocelot grinned slyly and shook his head. "Anyway, I first got the nickname 'Sharashka' since I was leading interrogations. I just got myself caught up in the old Russian pride. Suddenly, I received the honor of becoming 'special interrogation advisor to the forced labor camps'. The more men I interrogated, the more people saw me as just that - the interrogator. I'm starting to be pretty well known among the Afghan guerrillas - some of them would see me on the battlefield. And that's how I got the second half of the name 'Shashka'. It's a type of sword that was carried by Russian militants."

"Hmmmm, fitting." Lydia tilted her head in interest.

"Now…the Russian Empire had a general by the name of Fyodor Arturovich Keller. His bravery in the battlefield earned him the nickname, 'Russia's Greatest Shashka', I'm guessing someone must have known about that tale because somewhere along the line, shashka got stuck on the end of sharashka. By the time the nickname came to me, the guerrillas were calling me 'Shalashaska'."

Lydia nodded in amusement. "What a story." She smiled. "I wish I had a cool nick-name like that."

"It's hardly 'cool'." Ocelot rolled his eyes. "You haven't changed one bit." Ocelot returned his gaze to her and looked her in the eyes. Lydia didn't find it in herself to look away, all she did was smile softly with her lips.

"So I see you got revolvers instead of those dinky little pistols. I guess what Snake told you all those years ago stuck." Lydia chuckled. "I told you your gun would jam one day."

"And I thought of you when it did." Ocelot shook his head. "I forgot you were there when Snake and I fought for that first time."

"Do you still do gun tricks?"

"Once you get a talent for something, it's hard to shake it off." Ocelot grinned slyly.

"Can't wait to see your new tricks. It was pretty distracting when I was squaring off against you, I can only imagine how it would throw someone off if they hadn't seen something like that in action before."

"Case and point." Ocelot replied simply.

"I know someone on Mother Base would love to see that. We have a big fan of western movies on board." Lydia imagined Kazuo's eyes lighting up at the sight of a 'real cowboy'.

"Is that right?" Ocelot leaned in.

"Yeah, if things go as I'm planning, I will definitely find him and introduce you."

"And who would that be?" Ocelot asked with a half smile across his lips.

"Hold your horses." Lydia replied, crossing her arms over her chest. "He's one of our best guys. I think you'll like him."

Ocelot leaned back again, slowly. "If you say so."

Over the six hours, Ocelot and Lydia caught up on the past. Reminiscing about times they shared together, Lydia telling her own battle stories, and bragging about physical skills before they were finally in view of Mother Base. It was nearing 13:00 when they had arrived, the sky was partly cloudy and the temperature in the mid seventies…perfect weather for a new visitor.

Lydia opened the chopper's sliding door and peeked out. They were approaching Mother Base fast. "Impressive." She heard Ocelot sneak up next to her.

"Like I said earlier, it's not much right now, but we'll build off what we have." Pequod adjusted the chopper over the heliport and began his decent. To greet them, Kaz stood patiently with a few men at his side. The men standing next to Kaz looked as if they were on edge…like Kaz had given them the pep-talk to shoot on sight. "Excuse the welcoming party, our Commander likes to take extra measures."

"No, I get it." Ocelot set his gloved hand on her shoulder. When pequod touched down, Ocelot pushed himself out first and was followed by Lydia.

Lydia's eyes moved to Kaz who took a few steps forward. He extended his right arm for Ocelot to take in greeting. "Kazuhira Miller. Welcome to Diamond Dogs, Shalashaska." Ocelot returned the gesture, briefly shaking his hand.

"Ocelot, please." He corrected. "I understand you and your SubCommander have a few questions for me. Why don't we step somewhere more private?"

"Straight to business, I like it." Ocelot probably couldn't sense it, but Lydia recognized the annoyed tone in Kazuhira's voice. No doubt his eyelid twitched under his aviators. Finally putting a face to a name after so many years of Lydia briefly mentioning him. "Follow me."


	62. Chapter 62

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise**

 **Author's Note:** **Hello, readers! Welcome back! :) Here is the next chapter! There's a lot of juicy drama in here! :3**

 **CaptainMc -** Thank you for the kind words! :) And I'm happy you enjoyed the last chapter! Hope you enjoy this one, too!

 **yesdudes -** YOUR REVIEWS LMAO "SPICY MC-CHAPTER" KILLED ME I'M DECEASED. It's only going to get a-spicier from here *Italian hands* And thank you for the kind words 3 I think your dreams are going to come true in this chapter!

 **illusive reaper n7 -** WELCOME, WELCOME! Thank you so much 3 Hope you enjoy the future chapters :3

 ****MATURE CONTENT WARNING** - Sexual content (if you squint)**

* * *

 **"Jealousy you got me somehow.**

 **You gave me no warning,**

 **Took me by surprise."**

 **-Queen**

* * *

 **June 7, 1980: 13:15**

The newly polished warehouse on the command platform was open for business. Upon entry, Lydia heard a hum of impression from Ocelot who was examining his surroundings. A small squad of three men followed Kazuhira, Lydia, and Ocelot to their destination. Heavy precautions, but then again, Kazuhira had no idea _who_ Ocelot was. Toward the opposite end of the warehouse, Kaz had opened a door leading into room 101.

Kaz, Lydia and Ocelot entered the room while the three Diamond Dogs stood outside the door to await further commands. Once the door shut behind Ocelot, Kazuhira sat on a metal chair conveniently placed behind a thin, metal table. Kaz outstretched his right hand toward the two chairs on the opposite side of the table. "Take a seat." He spoke sternly. With his other hand, he started to fiddle in the breast pocket of his green jacket and pull out a tape recorder. Lydia heard the tape rolling as Kaz pressed the record button.

As Ocelot sat down in one of the chairs, Lydia grabbed a hold of the back of another and dragged it adjacent to Kaz. "Ocelot, was it?" Kazuhira opened. "What my Sub-Commander has told me, you agreed to our proposition to be Diamond Dog's tactical instructor in exchange for Big Boss' location." Kaz tapped the fingers of his right hand on the metal. Lydia shifted her head to Kaz at the mention of 'our' in his statement. Of course, he had to make it sound like they were a team.

Lydia turned her head and looked back to Ocelot, who was seemingly studying Kazuhira's body language as he spoke. "That's right." Ocelot nodded and relaxed back into his chair. Kaz leaned into the table as soon as Ocelot leaned back.

"So?" He prodded. "Where is he?" Ocelot shifted his body and reached to the middle of the table and grabbed the tape recorder. "Hey!" Kaz objected as he lunged forward to attempt to steal it back.

Ocelot pressed the record button a second time to stop the recording. "Kaz. This is sensitive information." Lydia nodded at Ocelot to let him know it was 'ok'. "We don't want Snake's location to fall into the wrong hands. It's better to keep it under wraps."

"See? Your Sub-Commander gets it." Ocelot held onto the tape recorder.

"Tch." Kaz shook his head, attempting to stay level. "Alright, have it your way."

"He's safe." Ocelot nonchalantly began. "In Dhekelia." He continued.

"In Cyprus?" Lydia cocked her head.

"A British Sovereign Base Area. Dhekelia SBA Memorial Hospital. It's part of British Overseas Territory that falls outside of Cypriot jurisdiction." Ocelot nodded. "I'm sure you're aware of his condition?"

"We're aware." Kaz's voice was low. "Is someone named Raven with him?" Kaz asked. "When they were attempting to resuscitate Boss, Raven was with us. I was surprised to see he wasn't with me when I came too."

"The medic, Roberto Garcia, right? He's dead. Died that night." Ocelot shook his head.

"I had a feeling." Kaz sighed. "He took shrapnel to his head."

"You're mistaken." Ocelot countered, as if on queue. " _That_ wasn't him. But, it makes sense you would see it that way."

"What are you talking about?" Kaz questioned.

"That was _Big Boss_ who suffered the shrapnel wound. They had to amputate his left arm, too."

" _What_?!" Kaz hit his fist on the table. "No." He leaned back into his chair. "I _saw_ him, he didn't-"

"The drugs those doctors used were intentionally used to disorient you, Miller. It's expected you wouldn't remember things clearly." Ocelot sighed. Lydia's head turned to Kaz who's face fell into his hands in disbelief. "That and the trauma from the accident." Lydia stared at him and extended her left hand to place it on Kaz's thigh. Kazuhira dropped his hands and looked at Lydia as if he was lost…trying to recollect the events of the attack. With the way Kaz looked at her, something didn't feel right about the news that was just broken.

"Can we see him?" Lydia inquired, attempting move the subject along. Trying to get some type of clarification to Ocelot's claim.

"That can't be done. He's under heavy protection. I'm the only one that's allowed in there to see him. You can trust me on that. Nobody will find him."

"You did." Lydia countered. "There are leaks everywhere. Moles. You say nobody will find him, but someday, someone might." Lydia removed her hand from Kaz's thigh. "You can keep him safe until then?"

"Of course." He nodded. "Cipher may want him dead, but, the last place Cipher would think to look for him is inside their own system. The US and UK are still allies, so they wouldn't expect Big Boss to be in arm's reach."

"Cipher…" Kaz clenched his fists. "They've been down our throats since '74. Everyone was out for us. We had no shortage of enemies, not with the power MSF had. It was only a matter of time."

"Kaz…" Lydia frowned.

"No. When Boss comes too, we'll have our revenge. We might not have that power any more but we'll build Diamond Dogs and become stronger than MSF to blow Cipher from the inside…like they did to us."

"Boss'd be happy to hear that." Ocelot agreed. "For now, we play our hands at the waiting game. There's no knowing when Big Boss will wake up, but when he does, we'll be ready."

"V has come too." Kaz spoke as if in a trance. "That's the code we're looking for."

"I see." Ocelot placed the recorder back onto the table. "Until he wakes, don't _expect_ my presence on base. I will be here when I can. My priority is to still keep Boss safe."

"We understand." Lydia nodded. "Do what you need to do. Thank you, Ocelot."

"When he wakes, we'll send you to go retrieve him and bring him back to us." Kaz ordered.

"Right." Ocelot agreed.

Kaz stood up and outstretched his right hand. Ocelot stood up from his chair and took a hold of Kazuhira's hand and firmly shook it.

Ocelot let go of Kazuhira's hand and turned to Lydia as she stood up. "Thank you, Lydia."

"Thanks for coming." She shook his hand. "And welcome aboard, Ocelot." Ocelot let go.

"Lydia, can you leave us?" Kaz asked. Lydia turned her head and raised an eyebrow.

"Sure. I'll be in my office. Just call me on the iDroid and I'll give Ocelot a tour."

"You can worry about that later." Kaz said. "You just go ahead." Lydia tilted her head in confusion.

"Alright then?" Lydia shrugged and walked out of the room. Once the door shut behind her, she greeted the troops standing guard outside the room. "Just heading back to my office." She reiterated to the troops. "Both Ocelot and the Commander are still in there."

"Yes ma'am." One of them responded as she began to make her way out of the warehouse. _What could he possible have to say to him?_ Lydia's mind wondered as she walked out into the sunlight.

* * *

 **KAZUHIRA**

"Listen." Kaz spoke as he stood eye to eye with the stranger that was invited into his home. "I know about your past with Lydia."

"And what _past_ would that be?" Ocelot questioned with a small grin on his face. Kaz's eyes narrowed at the returned question.

"You had a relationship."

"Heh, I wouldn't call what we had a _normal_ relationship by any means." Ocelot confirmed, almost bragging. "What's your point, Miller?"

"She's not the Lydia _Matthews_ you knew back then. She's had a life after you. That life was spent with me, her husband."

"Married?" Ocelot cocked his eyebrow. "Heh, she didn't mention that she was married." He scoffed. "I didn't think she was one to even do that."

"You don't know her like I do." Kaz said. "Keep your hands off of her and we won't have a problem."

"You should be more concerned with _her_ keeping her hands to herself. Your concerns are misplaced, Miller."

Kaz clenched his teeth at the accusation. "Please." He scoffed. "You use psychological warfare to get what you want. Don't you dare pull that crap on her. Not again. It's not going to work."

"Is that a challenge?" Ocelot spoke slowly, as if insulting Kaz. Kaz's body tensed up as he stared into Ocelot's grayish eyes. His jaw clenched as he inhaled through his nose, attempting to keep a level head.

"You're here for one purpose, and that purpose is to keep Boss safe." Kaz spoke. "The only _challenge_ I see is _you_ keeping the Boss safe."

"Is that _all_ you had to tell me, Miller?" Ocelot shifted his weight to his right leg. "If you're done insulting my intelligence I'd rather continue with the tour of base."

"Heh, be my guest." Kaz pulled out his iDroid and called Lydia.

"This is Lydia." She spoke clearly through his earpiece.

"Lydia, go ahead and meet Ocelot by the helipad. He's on his way up."

"You got it." Lydia responded and ended the transmission.

"The guards out front will take you to her." Kaz cracked his neck from side to side.

Ocelot nodded. Without another word, he walked out of the room and conversed with the soldiers before being led out of the warehouse. Kaz stood there, still, for a few moments. Was this jealousy that he felt? The pit in his stomach widened as he imagined Lydia with Ocelot. In the past…whatever the hell they went through… Kaz grew more furious by the moment.

Kaz stuffed the tape recorder back into his pocket then walked out of the warehouse. When he reached the primary level, his eyes fell on Lydia conversing with her 'old friend'. Kazuhira Miller thought he was not a jealous man, but the way she looked at this 'Ocelot' over her shoulder…the way that her body relaxed in his presence…the smile that stretched across her face. Kazuhira Miller didn't _consider_ himself a jealous man. But when it came to the hand Lydia so _lovingly_ placed on Ocelot's shoulder…that sent him over the edge.

* * *

 **LYDIA**

Lydia removed her hand from Ocelot's shoulder with a smile stretching across her face. "By the way, you should definitely be careful when walking close to the construction areas. The guys like to throw empty boxes off the side." Lydia turned her body and pointed to the part of base that was under construction. "Live on your toes when you're walking around." She chuckled.

"That probably helps with reflexes." Ocelot nodded. "Not very safe, but effective to say the least."

"Got that right." She nodded. "I planned to have target practice areas set around base once we expand. For now, we have the kill room below deck to help us out with that. It's adjacent to the warehouse we were just in."

"Is that the only source of training your men have?"

"So far, yes. Sometimes the men will spar on deck, but other than that…that's their only outlet."

"Hmmm, you should surprise them more often. Maybe start shooting them with a tranq to teach them to pay attention to their surroundings."

"What?!" Lydia laughed. "Are you joking?"

"Does it sound like I'm joking?" Ocelot shook his head and rubbed his right hand through his hair.

"Well that does sound like a good idea." Lydia shrugged. "I just might start implementing that."

"Lydia, I'm the tactical instructor now, if you forgot." Ocelot reminded.

"Oh, right." She scratched the back of her neck, embarrassed. "Well, that sounds like a great idea." She reiterated. "Something Snake would probably do, too."

"Exactly." Ocelot agreed.

Lydia continued with the tour. She showed Ocelot the living quarters along with his room, the mess hall, control room, intelligence and support offices, the R&D office, and her's and Kaz's separate offices. Ocelot was impressed with the condition of the platform. But, there was something else on Lydia's mind that she wanted to show Ocelot.

"There's one last room I need to show you."

"Lead the way." Ocelot extended his arm and motioned her to walk. Lydia and Ocelot walked side by side to the northern part of the command platform and up a few flights of stairs. She stood before an automated door and dug her keycard our of one of her pockets.

"Alright, so this room right here is our education room." She started the introduction. "Where all the magic happens and some fun stuff here and there."

"Fun…stuff?" Ocelot sounded confused.

Lydia scanned open the door with the keycard she had pulled out. The smell of popcorn blasted out of the room, instantly making Lydia's mouth start to water. As Lydia walked into the colorful room, she saw Kazuo and K. Marsupial sitting on a few cushions. Kazuo was snacking on some popcorn as he was working on rearranging printed out letters of the mixed up alphabet.

But the moment Lydia walked into the room, Kazuo's head snapped in her direction with a giant smile on his face. "MOMMY!" He shouted and launched himself off the cushion and made a dead-sprint toward Lydia. He crashed into her legs and gave her a big squeeze!

"Hey kiddo!" She laughed and rubbed the top of his head.

"Sub-C." K. Marsupial greeted. "We're just working on the alphabet again today. Kazuo read a whole book today, didn't you?" She smiled from across the room.

"Yeah! _Where's Spot_?!" Kazuo let go of her and pointed to his chest with his thumb, proud. "Maru said I'm a 'super smart' kid!" Maru…a nickname he gave since he had a hard time pronouncing 'Marsupial'.

"You sure are." Lydia smiled and knelt down. At the sound of spurs jingling, Kazuo's attention immediately went from Lydia to Ocelot who had just walked through the door.

"Whoa." He stepped out in front of Ocelot and looked from his boots to his face. "Hello." He greeted. The door shut behind Ocelot and he knelt down next to Lydia.

"And who might you be?" Ocelot asked.

"I'm Kazuo." He pointed to himself and then back to Ocelot. "Who are _you_?"

"I'm Ocelot."

"Ocelot?" Kazuo tilted his head, wondering if he said it right.

"That's right."

"Kazuo, this is a friend of mommy's." Lydia said.

"Are you a cowboy?" Kazuo questioned with wide eyes.

"Is this the cowboy fan you were talking about?" Ocelot chuckled and glanced at Lydia.

"Heh, yeah."

"WOW! A _REVOLVER!_ " Kazuo shouted, obviously noticing one of Ocelot's guns. "MOMMY HE'S LIKE THE SUNDANCE KID!"

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…" Lydia didn't know what to say. Ocelot stood up and nonchalantly unholstered his guns.

"YOU HAVE _TWO_?!" Kazuo stared up at him as Ocelot held both guns in his hands. Just like Lydia had remembered, Ocelot began juggling his guns in his hands. Spinning them around on his fingers, throwing them up in the air, under and over his arms, behind his back, and holstering them back as an appetizer for Kazuo. Who was, frankly, speechless.

"Kazuo, are you there?" Lydia waved her hand in front of his face. He was still staring wide-eyed at Ocelot. "Ocelot, I think you broke my kid." Lydia laughed to herself.

Ocelot knelt down in front of Kazuo another time and placed his gloved hand on top of his head, snapping him out of the daze. "When you're a little older, I'll teach you."

"Promise?!" Kazuo balled up his hands.

"You bet." Ocelot ruffled his hair before returning his hand to his side.

"MOMMY DID YOU HEAR THAT?!"

"You don't have to shout, Kazuo." Lydia continued laughing.

"Mommy did you hear that?" Kazuo asked again, this time, ten notches quieter.

"I sure did."

"How old are you, kid?"

"Four." Kazuo held up the corresponding fingers to the number he announced.

"Four, huh?"

"Yep!" He answered, proudly.

"Well Kazuo, it was nice meeting you. I'm sure I'll see you again."

"Yes please!" Kazuo clapped his hands together. "And bring your guns!"

"Oh, I never forget those." Ocelot winked and stood up straight, followed by Lydia.

"Well, kiddo, I've got to take Ocelot back to get some work done."

"Ok, Mommy." Kazuo hugged her legs another time before letting go. "Bye, Ocelot." Kazuo waved at him. Lydia opened the door and walked out of the room. Ocelot wasn't too far behind.

"You're full of surprises." Ocelot spoke.

"Isn't he the best?" Lydia gloated.

Ocelot leaned against the railing that was outside the room. "He looks like his father." Lydia smiled and then instantly tensed up, remembering that she never told Ocelot about her and Kaz. "Don't worry." Ocelot responded to her body language. "Miller mentioned your marriage."

Lydia smacked her hand to her face and dragged it down. "Sorry about that. I, uhhh, told him about how I knew you."

Ocelot chuckled at her response. "Yeah, he brought that up, too." Lydia observed him. He was gazing back at her with a look in his eyes she didn't recognize. "It's alright. Even I thought I was never going to see you again."

"But here we are." Lydia smiled warmly. "I'm just happy I _get_ to see you again. Even under these circumstances."

"I haven't seen that look in a while." Ocelot shut his eyes with a small smile on his lips.

"What look would that be?"

"You know the one." Ocelot opened his gray eyes and took a step closer to her. "Thank you for showing off your base. I'm going to retire for the night. I'll show myself back to my room." He nodded at her with an unreadable expression on his face.

Lydia nodded before saying anything. "Alright, you should be getting an iDroid tomorrow. Pequod also should have dropped off your things to your quarters." Before leaving, Ocelot lifted up both of his arms and gestured something she hadn't seen from him in years, his signature.

Lydia watched him until he disappeared below base and headed to the living quarters below deck. When he was out of sight, Lydia's body relaxed. "Good to see you, Sub-C!" A voice arose from her right. Someone had just walked up the stairs and saluted her.

"At ease." She squinted and read his name-tag. "C. Orangutan." He was Asian that had almond shaped eyes. Must have been part caucasian, too. His hair was a dark brown that grew straight. His build was lean, as if he was a rookie.

"Mind if we have a mock battle?" He asked as he placed his rifle over his back.

"What?" Lydia chuckled to herself. "You really want to fight me?" He was _definitely_ a rookie.

"I'm new around here, and all I've seen you do is shoot at things. Why don't you show me what the Sub-C is really made of?" He cracked his knuckles. Lydia looked around. There was enough space for a sparring match.

"Why not?" Lydia shifted her right leg into a classic neutral stance and slightly bent her knees. She held up her arms at an angle and waited for the attack. "Whenever you're ready." C. Orangutan squared up as if he was about to start a boxing match. His body was loose, bouncing around, and he held his fists close to his face. By the way his body was angled, he was going to start with a right straight.

When he made the move Lydia had predicted, she simply pivoted to her left and took a hold of his arm with her left hand. Now at his side, she placed her right hand over the back of his neck and squeezed before kicking him in the knee. He yelped in pain and dropped to the ground with the help of Lydia pushing down on his neck. "Looks like you need some more training, Rookie." Lydia stood up straight. "Your moves are predictable. You may have been a boxer before Diamond Dogs, but you're not one here." C. Orangutan turned around and sat on his butt, looking up at Lydia, defenseless. She held out her hand for him to take. "Do you want another lesson?"

As Lydia continued to pummel into this crazy rookie, some other Diamond Dogs decided to gather around and watch. Maybe five or six. What had started out as sparring, had turned into an all-out training session. Lydia was tired, she had been up for _hours_. It wasn't until Kazuo had completed school that she stopped the bonus training. But that wasn't until she held C. Orangutan in a headlock to choke him out. "What are you doing, Mommy?" Kazuo questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, nothing kiddo. Just teaching a lesson." She let go of C. Orangutan, who had tripped away from her.

"If you have the genes of our commander and sub-commander, you're going to grow up to be one tough kid." A troop to Kazuo's right complemented.

"I'm already big and strong." Kazuo crossed his arms, insulted.

"Oh, ahhhh, right." The troop rolled his eyes. Maru walked out of the classroom as well and quickly saluted Lydia.

"Ma'am, would you like me to walk Kazuo to his room?"

"No, no need." Lydia smiled. "Alright, go back to work you guys. It was nice teaching you all, but I'm beat." She stretched her arms out over her head. "Come on, kiddo." She nodded her head for Kazuo to follow her.

"Yes, Mommy!" He ran to her side as she started to walk.

"Don't forget about me." Kaz's voice surprisingly came out from the crowd of Diamond Dogs.

"C-Commander Miller!" The lot of them saluted. "S-sorry, we didn't see you!"

"I was just watching." Kaz waved his hand in front of his face for the soldiers to knock it off. Kazuo turned around with a smile and stopped walking.

"Hi, Daddy!" Kazuo jogged up to him and hugged his right leg.

"Hey." He ruffled his son's blonde hair. Lydia examined the two of them. Kaz was watching her? How long? Why didn't he make his presence known until know? Lydia smiled softly at the exchange.

"We're about to turn in, you coming with us?" Lydia asked, directed to Kaz.

"Sure." Kaz replied with a soft look on his face. "Men, return to your posts." Kaz ordered. The lot of them saluted and scattered before Kaz and Kazuo followed Lydia down the few flights of stairs to the ground floor. "Did you have a good day, Kazuo?"

"I read a book!"

"Oh really?" Kaz pressed on. "What book was it?"

" _Where's Spot._ " Kazuo answered shyly. "Did you see the cowboy, daddy?"

"…" Kaz looked briefly and Kazuo and then toward the horizon. " _Unfortunately_." He said with a flat tone. Lydia turned her head to the side and sighed at the display.

"Did _you_ have a good day, Daddy?"

"Now that I'm with you." Kaz replied. Lydia didn't look back, but she could hear the smile in his voice. When they arrived in the command quarter hall, Kaz scanned open Kazuo's door and ushered him inside. "Lydia, why don't you meet me in the room? I'll take care of Kazuo."

Questionable action, but appreciated. Lydia nodded to Kaz before taking his order and entering their room. Man was she beat. Flying a total of ten hours, being up for longer than that, and a training session. She stripped her fatigues off and threw them in the corner of the room. She then waltzed into the bathroom and took her long blonde hair out of her ponytail. Once she set the band down on the counter, she turned on the water to operate the shower.

Once the water hit her skin, calmness and relaxation took over. It was a long, eventful day. Snake was finally discovered. After all these years of seeking him out, they finally got their answer…with Ocelot thrown in, too. _Ocelot…Adam…_ Lydia lathered her body and hair in soap. Upon opening her eyes and removing her face from the spraying water, she looked down to the bottom of the tub. Blood.

Crimson liquid was trickling down from her left thigh. She reached down and gently massaged the muscle. There was no pain. Lydia closed her eyes and shook her head before opening them again…no blood. The scar tissue was piled on thick. Lydia frowned as she turned off the water. Of course having Ocelot back would trigger some memories for her, but those days…those were nothing but pain. Torture.

Lydia stepped out of the shower and dried herself off with a fluffy white towel that was hanging above the toilet. Her eyes caught her form in the mirror. The electrical scars that ran across the right side of her body looked more pink than usual, but then again, her mind could be playing more tricks on her. With her left hand, she traced her fingertips under her right ear-lobe and down her neck, shoulder, bicep, breast, side, hip…she could feel the electrical sensation tingle at her fingers.

She clenched her left hand and set it back to her side to stop herself from remembering. She adjusted the towel she held in her right hand and wrapped it around her torso before walking out of the bathroom. Kaz was sitting patiently on the edge of the bed, slouched over with his chin resting in his right hand. The room was dark and his glasses were off and sitting on the night-stand closest to him.

His hair was disheveled as if he had ruffled it prior to her walking out. He was down to his cargo pants and a simple white cotton shirt that hugged his body in the right places. Lydia blushed at his appearance…and then remembered she was naked under the towel. As the blush rose to her face, Kaz casually sat up straight and gazed at her.

Her heart beat fast inside her chest. Thumping as she saw Kaz's blue eyes size her up. As his eyes slowly travelled back up to her face, Kaz rose to his feet. "Lyda…" He spoke low. Kaz took advantage of the proximity the closer he positioned himself to her. His left hand cupped her right cheek, his thumb feathering across the deep scar on her left cheek. His fingers gently pressed into the scar tissue under her ear.

Lydia closed her eyes and leaned into his touch. His right arm snaked around her waist and smoothly pulled her body flush to his. His head craned down to meet and capture her lips in his own. It wasn't rough, but it felt desperate. Their lips moved together for only a few moments before he trailed his mouth to her jaw line. His teeth nipped at her neck the lower he went.

A moan resonated through the back of her throat as Kaz sucked sloppily on her neck below her ear. As if in a daze, Kaz lifted up his head and returned his attention to her lips. His hands roamed her covered body until he fastened them around the top of the towel. He unwrapped her and let the cloth fall gently to the floor. Lydia's hands positioned themselves at the base of Kaz's shirt and slipped her hands underneath the cotton.

She pulled his shirt up and over his head, breaking their heated kiss for the occasion. He stared into her eyes with a type of hunger she hadn't seen before. Her hands fell on top of his shoulders and smoothed their way down his chest and toned abs. Lydia's fingers reached his pants, and as she fiddled with the button and zipper, Kaz took it upon himself to kick off his boots.

There was an eagerness in his movements that Lydia recognized. He took care in his touch. At the end of it all, he spoke words that she thought were simple. "I love you." The words struck her differently as yearning behind them grew. Was it jealousy that he was feeling? Or was it simply wishful thinking from Lydia? The three words hurt and healed her heart. Burned and iced.

The obligation to say it back ushered through her body as the "I love you, too," nonchalantly fell from her lips. It sounded robotic. Almost as if the phrase had been unfamiliar. As they laid side by side, sleep crept up on Lydia. She loved him. She told herself. She _loves_ him. Repeated again. Kaz loved her. He finally said it. Despite the affection, Lydia couldn't help but feel as if he was triggered into saying it somehow. And so was she.


	63. Chapter 63

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS franchise!**

 **Author's Note: A big thank you to everyone who reads this story! :) HAU has now been around for TWO YEARS! Woot! Anyway! I hope you enjoy this chapter! Prepare yourself to be thrust into a small time-skip! If you have a favorite 1980's song (save the ones in MGSV) that reminds you of this story send them to me over review or PM! I'm running out of songs! xD Hope you all enjoy this set-up chapter!**

 **yesdudes-** Thank you so much for inspiring me to write a "This child empty, YEET" scene in this chapter lolol xD

 **Guest** \- Thank you, thank you! :)

 ****MATURE CONTENT WARNING**: sexual themes (major), mentions of torture (if you squint)**

* * *

 **"Sweet dreams are made of this.**

 **Who am I to disagree?**

 **I travel the world,**

 **And the seven seas,**

 **Everybody's looking for something."**

 **-Eurythmics**

* * *

Days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into months. Months turned into years. Ocelot came and went from Mother Base as he pleased. As he said, in order to keep Big Boss safe, he had to do what he must. Ocelot had a presence on Mother Base. He was well received and respected as the years fluttered on. He was accepted the most by one person in particular: Kazuo Miller.

In the Summer of 1983, Kazuo was seven. He had a fascination with Ocelot. So much so, he had developed a nickname for his friend… _Revolver_. How he came up with such a name? Lydia didn't think of it too much…it probably came from one of those Western films or Ocelot might have been talking about his own revolvers too much.

Ocelot took it upon himself to not only train the troops on Mother Base when he was present, but start to teach the little Miller as well. How to shoot. Sneak. Fight. Kazuhira didn't take too kindly to this, but when he saw how content his son was around Ocelot, to his own disdain, he didn't put up much of a fight.

So, Kazuhira kept his distance. If Ocelot couldn't have his wife then Kaz supposed Ocelot would take his son and make him his own. As the years grew, Kazuhira became distant with Kazuo…more of a figure-head rather than a father. Although Kazuo referred to him as such, there was something inside Kaz that didn't feel that bond, at least not recently. He was there when he needed to be and that was all.

Lydia made a good faith effort to involve Kazuhira in their activities, but he always seemed as if he was too busy. Kazuo observed this. And the older he got…the smarter he got, too. Hanging out around all the adults matured him faster than any _normal_ kid. He questioned often where his father was and why he wasn't around him as much. "He just has an odd way of showing he loves you." Lydia would relay. "He loves you, although he might not say it as much as me." She would laugh. "He does that to me, too, kiddo. That's just your dad. That's just the way he is." Kazuhira Miller had a lot running through his mind. He lost a lot. But what Kazuo didn't understand is why and how that would affect his father's love for his family.

In any case, this didn't stop Kazuo from trying to understand and love his father for who he was. It was an unconditional love. But there was no doubt that he was definitely a mom's boy.

* * *

 **June 10, 1983: 13:00**

Lydia stood, defensively, a few feet in front of Kazuo. His blonde hair was trimmed nicely around his face. He stood a little over four feet tall, taller than most kids his age…Lydia assumed. He had been sparring against Ocelot for a few years, and now he had finally convinced his mom to take a crack at it. On Kazuo's lunch break from his school session, he challenged Lydia to a duel. "Kazuo, I don't know if this is a good idea, hun."

"Mom, I promise, I'm not going to hurt you."

"You can't hurt me. I know Ocelot's been teaching you some stuff, but _he's_ never beat me in a fight." She gloated.

Kazuo cracked a grin and shifted his right leg behind him. "He didn't tell me that. He said the last time you guys fought, he won."

Lydia was silent as shots fired from her son's mouth. Was that her…pride as a mother that was hurt just now? Yes, that was true…but she had to seem like she was invincible to her kid! "Ouch. You know, my vision was impaired that whole time. So he had the advantage. He was lucky."

"There's no luck on the battlefield, _Mom_." Did she _actually_ want to swipe her son across the top of his head?

"Well, come at me, kiddo." Lydia nodded her head. Once she sent the invite, Kazuo began to move. He started with a sweep of his right foot. Lydia sighed and shifted her weight. Her left foot hooked around his sweeping leg and kicked it up so he lost his balance and harshly landed on his back.

"Ow!" Kazuo's hand floated to the back of his head after the impact. Lydia eyed him sit up and catch his blue eyes shift slightly to glance at someone coming up behind her! Lydia pivoted on her right leg and swiftly dodged an incoming jab. Her eyes fell on black lenses hiding blue-gray eyes. Her right fist followed through with the potential start of a pummeling combo, but was cast aside by Ocelot's forearm.

"Get her, Revolver!" Kazuo cheered from his position.

"Aren't you supposed to be cheering for your _mother_?!" Lydia hollered back, slightly agitated. As Ocelot took over the fight, they fluidly switched from offense and defense. They were evenly matched…that is until she felt someone restrain her around her neck from behind. Kazuo had jumped up and attempted to bring down his mother…but it was no use. Lydia reached over her shoulder and grabbed the back of Kazuo's shirt and vaulted him over her shoulder 'gently' throwing him into Ocelot. Ocelot outstretched his arms and caught him before toppling flat on his butt.

"We have to work on your sneak attacks, kid." Ocelot rolled his eyes and helped push him off.

"Sorry." Kazuo scratched the back of his neck as he watched Ocelot stand up.

"Kazuo, you can't blindly charge into a fight without thinking. No matter how distracted one person might have been, they might still have the upper hand. Maybe next time, try kicking me in the knee or something." Lydia educated. Kazuo looked down to the concrete at a loss. Lydia planted her hand flat on top his head and ruffled his already messy hair. "Losing isn't too bad. What matters the most is that you don't give up and you learn from the experience."

"Yes ma'am." He solemnly nodded his head.

"As for you." She turned her attention to Ocelot who glanced back at her with a questioning expression. "You've gotten slower since the last time I fought you. Why were you pulling your punches?"

"I told him to go easy on you, Mom." Kazuo admitted.

Lydia cocked her head in confusion. "Wait…you both _planned_ to jump me today?"

"Yes." Kazuo crossed his arms. "I just can't believe I lost."

"Well I guess you two can't go easy on me anymore, huh?"

"You see…" Ocelot positioned himself adjacent to Lydia. He knelt down and looked at Kazuo in his eyes. "If you hold yourself back, you're setting yourself up for failure. You're just getting in your own way."

Lydia placed both her hands on her hips. "You had a lesson planned for that encounter?"

Ocelot turned his head to look up at Lydia from his kneeling position and winked before returning his gaze back to Kazuo. "You're getting stronger, kid. I'm proud of you."

"One day I'll be stronger than you and Mom!" Lydia smiled at his determination.

"Just wait till you meet Big Boss." Lydia reminisced. "He can kick anyone's butt."

"I want to fight him!" Kazuo put up his dukes and lightly punched Ocelot in his shoulder. "You keep talking about him, when is he going to show up?" He dropped his hands to his side and whined.

As Ocelot stood up, he shrugged. "Who knows?" He responded. "But when he does show up, I bet he'll want to fight you, too."

"Yeah, I'll show him who's _boss._ " Kazuo laughed maniacally as Lydia smacked the palm of her hand to her forehead. Kazuo checked the watch that was on his left wrist and looked back at the two adults. "Thank you for lunch and fighting me, Mom. I'm going to go back to Maru, now."

"Alright, Kazuo. Be good!" She waved at him as he jogged off and up a flight of stairs to get back to the education room. Lydia then turned to Ocelot with narrowed eyes. "Why are you teaching him to pick fights with his _mother_?!"  
Ocelot shrugged. "It was his idea, Lydia. I didn't tell him to do a thing. He thinks very highly of you." Ocelot paused. "Anyway, that wasn't the only reason as to why I'm here."

"What's up?"

"If you want to follow me to the intel room, the team reported something…odd…about an hour ago that Miller's looking into."

"Sure thing. Something bad?"

"When is it something good?" Ocelot rhetorically asked.

Lydia let out a nervous chuckle. "Good point."

The two of them moved into the intel hub to see Kaz viewing a projection of four of their men. Their status was KIA. Adjacent to their photos, a map zoned in on Tortuguero, Costa Rica displayed with a bright red area of interest. "Kaz, what's this?" Lydia approached him, standing to his right side.

"Lydia, just in time." He glanced at her for only a moment before returning his attention to the data. "A few days ago we got a report from some of our guys posted in Costa Rica. Over the span of two years there have been multiple missing persons reports…and now the locals of Tortuguero have noticed a pattern. Women that have curly blonde hair, petite or fit in build, in their early twenties to early thirties, blue or green eyes, light skin, they have been targets. Men or other persons traveling with these targets had disappeared too, gone without a trace, only to be found dead somewhere far from where they initially went missing. As for the women, none of them have turned up. It's a big tourist spot. The townspeople near the highlighted area claim they see a ' _fantasma sangriento_ ' deep in the forest."

"Bloody phantom?" Lydia looked at Kaz.

"The rumor is that this fantasma sangriento is the cause of all this. Nobody wants to travel and it looks like they've cut off most of the tourist attractions in that area. Our command team deployed these four men that were headed south from Nicaragua to check it out because they thought it was something minor…but their iDroids went offline in this area. Their bodies haven't showed up yet, but we can only assume they're KIA." Kaz motioned to the red circle.

"That's horrible." Lydia examined the four men in the projection. Young, maybe in their late twenties. Too early to die, that's for sure.

"There's a killer loose. He's smart and tactical. Those were some skilled men, and they all went out one after the other."

"They may have gotten too close to his hideout." Lydia rubbed the side of her neck with her hand.

"And the people in the area are more frightened than ever. Forty-three people total, including sixteen women that fit the guy's M.O."

Lydia frowned. Those poor people. But there was something that stood out to her. Why Kaz had brought her in to brief her…he was planning on sending her out. "So, you're wanting to send me out?" She assumed.

"Lydia…" Ocelot took a deep breath before facing her. "You fit our target's M.O. down to a T. Everyone that has intentionally investigated or travelled to that area that don't fall in that specific category of person have shown up dead. The bodies don't lead to any type of residence or make up a pattern…it's all random. And it's _only_ the men and women that show up that don't appeal to this guy. Who's to say where these other sixteen women are?" He paused with a solemn look on his face. "But with your critical thinking and observation skills, there's no doubt you can find who's doing this and bring them to justice."

"Our own men were killed." Kaz butted in. "Whoever is terrorizing these Costa Ricans needs to be stopped indefinitely."

Lydia shrugged. "I guess I don't have a choice." She hadn't been on a mission in a few years, since her initial run-in with Ocelot. Why now? Was it because Kaz had no other choice? Either way, she was happy she was finally able to get off base…although the risk of losing her life was high. "Do I get a partner at least? I would like to have someone watching my back just in case."

"You'll get a plus one." Kaz advised. "We had one of our men volunteer already. But, Lydia, this is your first time back on the field in a while…can you handle it?" The question struck as an insult to Lydia. The way he swayed his words…it's as if he was sending her out on purpose…not that they had no other choice.

Before Lydia spoke up, Ocelot took the chance instead. "You're not putting enough thought into her natural skills, Miller. She was trained by Big Boss, himself, since she was a young girl." Ocelot spoke highly. "Of course she can."

"Oh boy, I can speak for myself." Lydia held up her right hand before Kaz was going to naturally argue back. Although she appreciated the words, she loathed when people put words in her mouth…especially when she was standing right next to them! "Yes, Kaz, I'll be fine. Who's coming with me?"

Kaz pulled out his iDroid and began sifting through the staff. "Charging Falcon. I'll queue him up for deployment. I'm setting the LZ north-west of Tortuguero along the Laguna Penitencia. It's pretty green and humid this time of year. I would pack lightly for camouflage with your basic essentials. You'll want to make your way from the LZ to where the Río la Suerte meets the Laguna Penitencia. That's where our men disappeared."

"You got it."

"I want you to have daylight on your side, so take the day to gather what you need and you'll head out early in the morning. It will take around thirty hours to get there if Pequod is traveling at top-speed."

"Makes me miss when Costa Rica was on our doorstep." Lydia shrugged. "I'll go get ready." Lydia nodded to Kaz and Ocelot before exiting the area, not wanting to stick around for any more small talk.

The mission itself was investigation, but the contents is what made it dangerous. Kaz was right when he mentioned this guy was tactical. How could she catch someone that had been at the same thing for two years? In any case, if those girls were still alive or dead, their families deserved closure at least.

This was a mission unlike any other she had been on. She was going in blind to a new area. She'd been to Costa Rica plenty of times, but never this place…there wasn't a need until now.

Lydia walked her way to the education room and scanned open the door before entering. Kazuo was sitting at a table, reading out of a text book and writing on paper. "Hey bud." She greeted. "Hi Maru."

"Hello Sub-C."

"Hey, Mom." Kazuo turned his head to her briefly before returning his attention to his work.

"What 'cha working on?" Lydia walked behind him and loomed over his seating position.

"Math." Kazuo sighed. "It's easy." Lydia glanced over his work…he was breezing through the questions and working out the problems like they were nothing!

"Wow, you remind me of me." Lydia smiled.

"Revolver says I get my brains from you." Kazuo commented.

"That's three-quarters right." Lydia sat next to him. "One quarter of your brain comes from your dad, who's one smart cookie when it comes to people."

" _Sure_. His quarter is probably why I'm so bad at fighting." Kazuo rolled his eyes as he worked his way through a math problem. He was still hurt about the little match earlier.

"Hey, that's not true. I'll let that attitude slip only because you're working." Lydia pulled up a chair and sat next to him. "Hey, stop working for a sec, will ya? It's important." Kazuo put down his pencil, rested his right elbow on the table, and propped his head with his fist that he placed under his cheekbone. "Thank you." Lydia gestured.

"Shoot." Kazuo said, simply. He was picking up her mannerisms…that's for sure.

"I'm going to be leaving for a few days on a mission. I know it's been a while, but your dad is here to look after you, ok?"

"Where are you going?" He asked, interested.

"Costa Rica." She smiled.

"Cool!" Kazuo straightened his posture. "I read a book on Costa Rica!"

"Did you?" Lydia questioned. "What can you tell me about Tortuguero?"

"Tortuguero?" Kazuo scratched the top of his head. "Oh, that's the turtle place." He nodded. "The beaches in that area are home to a lot of sea turtles. The rivers, coast, and rainforests bring a lot of travelers, I bet. There are also a whole bunch of animals that live there, too! Do you want to hear?"

"Please share, I know nothing of this place." Lydia invited him to go on. "You're helping me out on my mission by telling me these things." She suddenly witnessed his eyes sparkle.

"Wow, I can't believe it. Well the area surrounding is just all dense rainforest that's home to, uhhhh, jaguars, little tapir pigs, and near the beach you might see a manatee! You'll see a lot of birds, fishing bats which are REALLY cool. But be careful around some frogs, if I remember correctly, the poison dart frog lives there, too. I don't know how many there are…but it's there. Oh, there are some monkeys there, too!"

"You sure do know a lot about that place. If it wasn't so dangerous, I'd take you with me."

"What's so dangerous about it? I can only think of things that could eat you…and you could probably punch a jaguar in the face and it'll run away." Kazuo gently punched her in the arm.

"Nope, I definitely _cannot_ punch a jaguar in the face. _You're_ crazy." Lydia laughed. "Do you know anything else about it?"

"No, not really. If you're tired, it's best if you climb a tree and sleep up in the middle of branches so bad animals won't sneak up on you and eat you." Lydia raised her eyebrow. She had heard something similar from Snake when he had first started training her!

"Who taught you that?"

"Revolver." Kazuo said proudly. Lydia softly smiled. "He tells me a lot of things."

"Oh really, like what?" She pressed on.

"He told me that if I dress like the plants and ground around me people could have a hard time seeing me. So I think that's why you should wear dark green and brown. Oh, and he also told me that tranq darts don't affect him. But I think that's crap."

"Language?" Lydia, baffled, cut him off before he said anything else.

"Poop. That's _poop_. I didn't believe him so he gave me a tranq gun and I shot him with it."

"I shot him with a tranq once, too, and it didn't work." Lydia tucked in her lips to keep herself from laughing. "I was also disappointed in the outcome."

"Revolver said you two got into a lot of fights. And that he gave you that." Kazuo pointed to the scar her cheek.

"This?" Lydia traced her thumb along the thick scar across her right cheekbone. "Well, initially he didn't…but he made it a lot worse. He hit me with the hilt of his gun."

"With the handle?"

"Yeah, split my cheek right open after it was just about done healing, too. And get this…"

"Yeah?"

"He said 'now you have something to remember me by'. What a _jerk_."

"I don't think he meant to hurt you. He's not a jerk." Kazuo defended him with a kind tone. Lydia's eyes softened. Ocelot was like some type of role-model to Kazuo. To hear he had done something to harm his mother and have her confirm it, well, that probably flipped his mind over.

"He saved me, actually. But that's a story I'll tell you when you're older. You'll probably have nightmares."

"Mom, I'm _seven_. I'm old enough."

"Nope." She denied. "I promise I'll tell you when you're uhhhh _sixteen_ , ok?"

"Mom! That's like a million years from now!" Kazuo wined and slapped his hand to his forehead. "Ok, I guess I'll go back to my work." He moped and picked up his pencil.

"Thank you for telling me about Costa Rica, Kazuo." Lydia gave him a side-hug and kissed the top of his head. "I love you."

"I love you too, Mom." He said quietly, pretending not to care. Lydia kept her laughter bottled inside.

"Sorry for interrupting, Maru. You can have him back, now." Lydia stood up and began to walk to the door.

"No trouble at all, Sub-C. Thanks for dropping by." She waved.

"Kazuo, I'll see you later tonight, ok?"

"Ok, Mom." He waved at her before she exited.

With a smile on her face, Lydia pulled out her iDroid and dialed into Kaz's line. She pressed a button on her earpiece to take her off of mute. "This is Miller." He answered. By the tone of his voice he didn't sound too busy.

"Hey, are you busy?" Lydia asked as she started to walk her way to his office.

"No, why don't you stop by?" He added. "I'm in my office."

"On my way." She ended the transmission and decided to jog to him. She just couldn't wait to share what Kazuo had told her! He was going to be so proud! Not to mention, happy in the investment of K. Marsupial as his teacher. Minutes later, she had arrived and opened the office door. "Hey." She greeted.

"What's got you in a good mood?" Kazuhira questioned as he leaned back in his rolling chair.

"I just visited Kazuo." She answered as she sat down in one of the two chairs placed on the other side of his desk. "You won't believe what he shared with me."

"Try me." Kaz folded his fingers together and placed them under his chin, leaning forward.

"He told me all about Tortuguero. What type of terrain, fauna, the tourist attractions, and what it's famous for. He said he read it in a book about Costa Rica."

"Really?" Kaz laughed. "I remember when Paz was our to-go person for Costa Rica's environment." He reminisced.

"And get this, he told me to pack clothes that will blend into the environment and if I get tired I should crawl up onto a tree and sleep so animals won't get the jump on me."

"Heh." Kaz shook his head. "Smart kid."

"He was working through some math problems, blowing through them like they were nothing. I think he may have a photographic memory or something."

"I know where he got that from." Kaz leaned back into his chair.

"You should go visit him sometime while he's in school. Just for a couple minutes. I know you're busy, but if I can make the time, so can you."

"I mean to. Kazuo means a lot to me. It's just hard when Ocelot's around him all the time." Kaz replied. "Hey…" He spoke softly. "I'm sorry if I said something that ticked you off earlier."

"It wasn't what you said, but how you said it." Lydia shrugged. "I'm over it though, I know you didn't mean it."

"I'll get better about that." Kaz sighed. "I just get…provoked…when Ocelot's in the room."

"He does have that aura to most people." Lydia agreed. "He definitely came off as provoking when I first met him. You'll warm up to him."

"I doubt it." Kaz rejected with a straight face. "I would rather be in a room with you. Like how we are now."

"Wouldn't things be much simpler that way?" She chuckled. "Me and you having government jobs. Nine to Five, twenty-five thousand a year."

"To hell with that." Kaz grinned. "This is the best job in the world. Despite the downs, we're doing things our way with no one to stop us." He paused and looked down, losing the fire in his eye. "We're working our way to destroy Cipher. That organization has a lot of arms, but they all connect to the same trunk. We'll have our revenge. I promise, Lydia." Kaz placed his closed fists on the desk.

Lydia's right hand found its way to her stomach. She could still feel the stabbing pain of the miscarriage. Just as Kaz went through his loss, Lydia still went through her's. Regret they couldn't do more. Resentment toward the people who caused it. Built-up anger. Frustration. Now that they knew where Boss was and that he was in relatively good hands, there was nothing really further to worry about…except for reminisce on why they were doing what they were doing.

"Are you ok?" Kaz questioned, snapping Lydia out of her daze. "Is your stomach hurting?"

"No." She removed her hand from her stomach and rested it on her lap. "I'm alright." She stared at him from across the desk. They had been through so much. In a time when they had needed someone, they had found each other - despite the odds. "I think I'm just nervous about the mission." She blurted out, attempting to get her brain away from the baby.

"What about it?" Kaz questioned. "The fact that you're exactly what our perp is looking for?"

"Yeah. I mean…what if he has supernatural powers or something? I don't want to be kidnapped by another lighting user or hornet user or…whatever."

"I doubt that. I think you're letting the rumor get to you. He's no ghost. He's human and can be taken down as such." Kaz said, almost too confidently.

"He's just one guy. I wonder how he does what he does so fast?" Lydia pondered.

"Definitely uses the forest to his advantage. I'm guessing he sets up traps the closer someone gets to his hideout."

"Makes sense. That would also explain how none of our guys have turned up yet if he only checks those traps every once in a while when he wants to go find a new girl. Whoever he gets his hands on are probably killed on the spot and then discarded away from the crime scene. I can only imagine what he does to the women he wants to keep."

"That's why I asked if you could handle it." Kaz sighed. "It was my last resort to send you because of the dangerous nature of the mission. But low and behold, it came down to it."

"I'll figure it out." Lydia stood up from the chair and walked to the door. "But…" She pressed a red button to lock it to prevent anyone from scanning in. "If I end up dying, I'm not going to leave until you have sex with me one last time."

"So _forward_." Kaz laughed.

"You're so handsome when you smile." She waltzed over to the other side of his desk. "That's how I know you love me."

"I guess I should smile around you more often." Kaz stood up from his chair and caressed her face with his right hand. "I have two reasons to smile. You and Kazuo are everything to me. I'll make time to see him more often, I promise."

Lydia leaned her head into his hand and smiled sweetly. "I love you."

"I love you, Lydia." Kaz dipped his head lower and kissed her gently. As their lips moved slowly against one another, Kaz unbuttoned her pants and dipped his hands beyond the lining of her underwear. Smoothly tracing her skin with his fingertips. He pushed down her pants and panties together. Kaz bent his knees slightly before placing his hands under her thighs. He hoisted her off the ground and lifted her up to sit on top of his desk. Lydia took off her shirt and bra once he set her down as Kaz stripped off his clothes. Hungrily, Kaz captured her lips with his own. Lydia's eyes rolled to the back of her head as he traced his tongue against her bottom lip. Their tongues intertwined as Kaz gently sucked on her tongue for only a moment before letting it free.

Euphoria. Kazuhira was soon sucking on her shoulder for a mark only he would see. He grabbed a hold onto her breasts and massaged them in his hands, kneading her nipples between his fingers as he returned his lips to her own.

Lydia parted from Kaz and gently pushed him back. "What are you-?" He asked, nearly out of breath from the exchange. Lydia slid off the desk and knelt down to both of her knees before taking his semi-hard cock into her hands and slipping it into her mouth. Kaz let out a sigh of pleasure as she enveloped his cock. Slowly bobbing her head back and forth, swaying her tongue under his member and around the tip when she would pull away. Lydia grazed the fingertips of her right hand at his base then down to cradle his balls. With her left hand, Lydia traced it down her body and between her folds. As she released a moan that vibrated against his member, Kaz groaned and gripped her loose hair with one of his hands.

He guided her to move faster. He breathlessly called out her name as Lydia continued to swirl her tongue around his cock with each bob of her head. She moaned in return, as she could feel her legs start to quiver from the masturbation. Kaz must have caught onto this and gently pulled her up from her hair. Lydia slowly parted from him with swollen lips. His hand floated up to her cheek as his thumb roughly smothered her lips before he turned her around and pushed her onto the desk. Kazuhira's back slowly traced itself from her neck to her lower back.

Slowly, he glided his hard cock into her, releasing a shaky groan. "Lydia, you feel so fucking good." Lydia bit her bottom lip as Kaz took a hold of both of her wrists and pulled her back as he started to thrust into her.

This position was new. Kazuhira picked up a rhythmic pattern, slamming his cock hard inside her. She felt like she was in some type of pleasureful yoga position. Lydia bit her bottom lip as he continued his motions. Prematurely, Kaz pulled out of her after a few minutes. "Turn around." He ordered. She slowly stood up straight and turned to face him. "Lay your back flat on my desk." She hopped up on the desk and laid down, propping herself up with her elbows. As Lydia spread her legs, Kaz grabbed a hold of her calves and placed them on both of his shoulders.

Lydia threw her head back in ecstasy as he entered in her another time. She to her position, gazing at Kaz as he admired every bit of her. Her breasts, face, body, everything. He was in perfect sync as he thrusted in and out of her. It didn't take long after repetitive motions to completely let loose. Kazuhira pulled out and let his cum shoot out on her abdomen. Lydia sized him up as he opened one of his drawers and pulled out a napkin. "Convenient." Lydia joked.

"What? I eat in here sometimes." Kaz chuckled, somewhat out of breath. He wiped the pool off of Lydia then tossed the paper in the trash. "Thanks for that." Kaz smiled and held out his hand for her to take.

"No, thank _you_." Lydia took the offer and grabbed a hold. Kazuhira pulled her up as she gently slid off the desk. "I guess I can go pack now." She laughed. Kaz pulled up his briefs and pants that were at his ankles and buttoned them back up. Lydia gathered her clothes and started to put them on again, piece by piece.

A few minutes later, Lydia crossed her right arm over her chest and locked it in with her left for a stretch. "I guess I'll see you later tonight, right?"

"You bet. I'll stop and see Kazuo, too, I promise."

"You better." Lydia tapped her knuckles on his desk a couple of times before walking out of his office.

As the next few hours passed, Pequod had flown out of the chopper garage and positioned the helicopter on the helipad. Lydia packed the essentials: snacks, her tranquilizer pistol, and an AM MRS-4. Lydia had attached a disposable suppressor to each weapon. She brought along a handful of empty magazines and four compact stun trip mines. Of course, her int-scope would be on her person as well as her iDroid. There were some extra cans of emergency med spray left onboard from the last mission Pequod had deployed on. Traveling light, but she couldn't afford to have something heavy on a mission like this.

Upon loading her things into the support chopper, she noticed that Falcon, her partner, had already stacked his things on the opposite side. _Good, I won't have to remind him last minute._ Lydia cracked a smile as she mounted her guns and placed the other items in the cargo hold.

* * *

 **July 12, 1983: 01:00**

Boarding time. Lydia, Falcon, and Pequod stood idly by as they concluded their pre-mission preparations. Now that Falcon was standing near her, Lydia had seen him walking around base a few times. He stood about five-foot-seven, Spanish decent with tan skin, short black hair and dark brown eyes. His build was lean and he carried himself well. He'd been on a few missions before, all stealth. At least he had some experience! Now, they were only awaiting the arrival of their commander.

Minutes flew by when Kazuhira showed up. Lydia was surprised he was late, due to the fact she had abruptly awoken his slumber just a few hours prior. "Morning." He greeted, attempting to find it in himself to sound awake. He adjusted his sunglasses and inhaled to speak, "So, your mission is to find our missing men. If you do, bring them back. There's a Japanese whaling ship in that area that I purchased for us. There are some guys on it working on some modifications, but they should have communications up and running. I'll send you the coordinates so you have no problem finding it. Pequod, you'll use that whaling ship to resupply on fuel, food, whatever you guys need."

"Yessir." Pequod saluted.

"Iris, Falcon, this is a stealth and potential rescue mission. The main objective is to find our four missing Diamond Dogs and determine their state, then, find this Bloody Phantom and bring him to justice. You'll be dropped off at the Tortuguero Airport; they know you're incoming. It's a private airport, so you shouldn't expect any civilians to be there. From there, you'll head west across a river to a small village to gain more intel on the secondary objective. Keep your trackers on at all times, call if there's something wrong. Any questions?"

"No, sir." Lydia and Falcon replied.

"Alright, head out." Lydia, Falcon, and Pequod saluted to their commander before they loaded themselves onto the chopper. Before Lydia shut the cargo door, she held up a peace sign to Kaz. His shoulders jumped as if he had let out a puff of air in a scoff and shook his head. Lydia chuckled and shut the door then proceeded to sit down in one of the many seats inside.

There was enough space to carry a whole squad in the chopper, which was nice in case if they _did_ find the men. As Pequod lifted off, he gave the two passengers the run-down. "It sure is a beautiful day to fly in July. Not expecting any rain, storms, or nothing the entire way there. Could have some turbulence but nothing more than normal. I have plenty of caffeine to keep me up, so you don't have to worry about me falling asleep. I'm a machine and will behave as such."

"You're unstoppable." Lydia leaned toward him and pat him on the shoulder.

"Only when I need to be, ma'am." He held a thumbs up as Lydia sat back down. "Anyway, it'll take a little over 30 hours to arrive. We'll stop by the whaling ship on the way and fuel up. Have any questions…well…let me know? I'm not too far away."

"Thank you, Pequod." Lydia clapped her hands together. "My hope is that we find our guys and those missing girls alive and well."

"Same here, two of them were pretty good friends of mine. It would be a shame to see them dead, that's for sure." Falcon voiced up. "Raging Raccoon and Rumbling Jaguar. We were all on a relief mission a couple years ago, helping some small town find hurricane flood survivors in Puerto Rico."

"That's something." Lydia crossed her arms and shifted her butt in her seat to become more comfortable. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Yeah, we've been friends ever since. So this mission is personal for me." Falcon admitted.

"Well, Falcon, don't let your personal feelings in the way on this one. I understand your drive, but when emotions run high, I need to know that I can trust you and you can get the job done. We have no idea what we're walking in to."

"You can count on me, Sub-C." Falcon nodded. "I have a feeling we'll work great together."

"Heh, we'll see. Well, if you don't mind, I'm going to catch some shut-eye." Lydia leaned her head against the metal wall and shut her eyes.

"I'm in the same boat." Falcon agreed. "Sleep good."

Lydia drifted off to sleep. The loud hum of the helicopter and the radio were perfect ambiance to sleep to.

* * *

 **KAZUO**

 **July 12, 1983: 09:00**

Kazuo dressed himself in casual attire, his usual black tee and dark green pants. He looked at himself in the mirror and combed his blonde hair in it's usual fashion before walking out of his room. Across the hall, he looked up at the light above his parents' room. Red. No one was there. "Man." Kazuo scuffed his boot on the hard flooring. "I forgot mom was out."

Now that his mother was gone from base, there were other things that crossed his mind. He was way ahead on his school work…why not call out sick for a change? No harm in that, right? After all, he would _much_ rather hang out with Revolver than go to school. Kazuo pulled out his small communicator and called to Maru, his teacher. "This is K. Marsupial." She greeted with her Aussie accent.

"Hi, Maru. It's Kazuo." He coughed…for _extreme_ convincing. "I'm not feeling good. I can't go to school today. I don't want to get you sick."

"By all means, if you're _actually_ sick, you don't have to come. I'll call your dad and tell him."

"No, you don't have to tell him." Kazuo said smoothly. "He already knows. He heard me coughing when he woke up this morning."

"Hmmm, alright. Well if he knows already there's no need for me to tell him. But you'll have more work when you're better. Are you _sure_ you're sick? She asked, accenting the 'sure' in the sentence.

"I'm _positive_." Kazuo smiled to himself. "I have to go, my throat is hurting again." With one last chain of coughs, he ended the call. "Got ya." He snickered _so_ slyly. If he could fool Maru he could fool Revolver. Actually, on second thought, Revolver was smarter…so maybe not. Kazuo jogged out of the hallway and out into the fresh air. It was cool out in the morning, but no doubt it would heat up later. With a pep in his step, he casually walked up the stars to the primary level. There were a few guys walking about, carrying on with their usual daily…things.

"Hey little Miller." Kazuo rolled his eyes at the salutation from a soldier in a black mask.

"Little?" Kazuo narrowed his eyes, turned around and looked up at the troop.

"Uhhhh….small?"

"I'm not small. I'm _seven_."

"Riiiiiiiiiight." The guy scratched the back of his head. THE NERVE!

"Do you know where Ocelot is?" Kazuo questioned as he attempted to get level-headed.

"He actually left a little more than an hour ago. Not sure where he went…he's kind of secretive about that stuff."

"Hmmm." Kazuo tapped his chin with his right index finger. "I wonder…well thanks anyway." Kazuo sighed and proceeded to roam around the command platform. The thought crossed his mind if Revolver had left and wouldn't be back for a while. He pulled out his iDroid and called in to his friend…no answer after about a minute or two of beeping. "Ugh." Kazuo audibly sighed. "My plans are _ruined_." He moped and pressed his forehead dramatically against one of the metal walls of the active building.

"What plans would that be?" Kazuo instantly perked up at the familiar voice. He swiftly turned around and was facing, as guessed, his father. One of his eyebrows were raised, his arms were crossed over his chest. Kazuo could feel the scary glare his dad bore under those dark glasses.

"Uhhhh, hi, Dad." Kazuo waved his hand in a small circular motion. "I uhh…was just trying to find…uhhhh…the bathroom?"

"Nice try." His father started to tap his fingers on his bicep. "Maru called me and told me you weren't feeling good. I was on my way to check on you, but here you are, walking around and not looking like your sick. Hmmmm." Kaz placed his hand behind his neck. How dare Maru betray him like that! "Now, if you mom was here, she would probably throw you overboard." Kazuo's skin crawled with goosebumps. "I'm _almost_ tempted to do the same."

Kazuo couldn't get a read on him. Was he serious? Mom wouldn't throw him overboard, but would _he_?! "Please, Dad, I'm sorry!" Kazuo flattened his arms to his side and bowed. "I just didn't want to go to school today!" As Kazuo's eyes were squinted shut, he heard his dad bust out laughing. "Huh?" Kazuo returned to a neutral posture and narrowed his eyes at him.

"I guess instead of walking you off the plank, you're just going to have to hang out with your old man." Kaz bent his knees to get on eye-level with Kazuo. "Didn't mean to scare you, son."

"You didn't scare me." Kazuo shook his head and waved his hand in front of his face. "I was going to hang out with Revolver, but he's not here. So I _guess_ I can hang out with you." Kazuo tried to play it off cool. The thought of hanging out with his dad for once was pretty neat! They never really hang out together anyway, so this is awesome!

"Right…" Kazuo noticed he sounded sad. Why? Kazuo frowned and approached his kneeling father, wrapping his arms around his neck.

"I love you, Dad." Kazuo smiled as his father hugged him back.

"I love you, Kazuo." As he let go, Kazuo held two thumbs up.

"So, what are we gonna do?" Kazuo's expectations were high. Maybe they would go on a helicopter ride? Maybe they would go shooting? Maybe they would…

"How about I take you somewhere?" HELICOPTER RIDE! Kazuo's hands balled up in front of his chest in excitement.

"Cool!"

"I have some work to do where we're going, so you have to behave yourself, alright?"

"Yessir!" Kazuo saluted.

"Go get packed. We could be gone a couple of days."

"Where are we going?!"

"Johannesburg to catch a flight somewhere else. You have to hurry!" Kaz pushed Kazuo along. "Our plane's not gonna wait for us!"

"Uh oh! Ok, ok!" Kazuo skipped into a run and bolted below deck, leaving his father in the dust. Finally! He hadn't spent too much time with his dad, so this is sure to be a treat! Playing around, hiking, swimming, shopping…Kazuo wanted to see the world! He emerged in his room and dived under the bed. He dragged out a large duffle bag an adult would use, but he _did_ say they were going to be gone for a couple of days! Kazuo threw the bag on top of the bed and leapt to his closet in glee.

Upon opening up, Kazuo took down pants and some tee-shirts and threw them over his shoulder to land on the bed. He grabbed a hold of a pair of tennis shoes his dad had got him while he was out on a mission as well as a pair of boots with some socks and underwear. Quickly, he returned to the bed and stuffed all the items in the bag. Next, he bolted into the bathroom, grabbed his toothpaste, toothbrush, and comb and relayed them into the bag as well. "I think I'm done!" He exclaimed to himself.

This was going to be one awesome adventure! Who knows where he was going?! This was sure to be the start of the best day of his life! Kazuo zipped up the bag and dragged it off the bed. The duffle fell to the ground with a large _thud_. "Woops. I think I packed too much stuff." Kazuo tightened his grip around the carry-straps and dragged it along the floor until his door slid open behind him. Kazuo peeked over his shoulder to see his dad had entered the room.

"Here, I'll take that for you, son." He had a hint of laughter in his voice as Kazuo let go. Kaz leaned down and picked up the bag easily, flinging the duffle over his shoulder.

"Wow, Dad! I'm so excited!" Kazuo fist pumped the air. "Let's go! We're gonna be late!" He bolted out the door and through the hall one last time to the base level of the platform. Queequeg was waiting by his chopper on the helipad. His arms were crossed and his foot tapping on the ground.

"Hey kid, where's your dad?" Queequeg called out as Kazuo approached.

"He's coming." Kazuo held a thumbs up then lifted himself up and into the chopper.

"What? _You're_ coming?" Queequeg sounded surprised.

" _Yes_." Kazuo lingered on his answer as he sat down in one of the chairs. "I'm going on an adventure."

"Well no jumping out of the chopper, you hear? This is no pleasure cruise."

"Yessir!" Kazuo saluted from his chair. Queequeg's eyes rolled as he shook his head from side to side. "Commander!" Queequeg shouted. "Your kid is in my chopper!"

"I'm aware." Kaz waved his free-hand in front of his face. Kaz approached the cargo door and threw Kazuo's bag in before climbing in, himself. "You ready?"

"YEAH!" Kazuo outstretched his hand for a high-five, which Kaz immediately returned before sitting down in the chair closest to Queequeg. It didn't take long before Queequeg entered and booted up the chopper. As the blades spun, the helicopter lifted off up and away to Johannesburg!

* * *

 **PS: As you can tell from the POV switch, there's going to be much more Kazuo content in future chapters! :) Woo!**


	64. Chapter 64

**Disclaimer - I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise!**

 **Author's Note: Welcome back everyone! And a big thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorited and/or followed! Here's the new chapter; I hope you guys enjoy! :3 I had a REALLY hard time trying to figure out where to cut off this chapter, but I think I found a good spot! You can tell by the Mature** **Content Warning that this is going to be a very mature chapter, please read with a mature mind!**

 **Guest K-** Yes! Welcome back! I'm so sorry to hear that D: I'm glad you've been enjoying the chapters! Hopefully you like this one just as much!

 **yesdudes-** I think it's going to turn out darker than what you're imagining lmao

 ****MATURE CONTENT WARNING**: Blood and Gore, Torture**

* * *

 **"You're running around.**

 **Well you can take it as a warning,**

 **Or take it anyway you like.**

 **It's the lightning, not the thunder.**

 **You never know where it's gonna strike."**

 **-Greg Kihn Band**

* * *

 **July 12, 1983: 14:30**

Japan wasn't the place Kazuo was expecting to go after arriving to Johannesburg, but Kaz swore up and down that the trip was going to be fun. Kazuo people-watched as he sat patiently in the waiting area to board the plane in the busy Johannesburg airport. There were a lot of Asians sitting around, too. Kaz had left him with the mission to keep an eye on their luggage as he went to grab some snacks.

Crying babies and immature children bolted around in other gate waiting areas. Parents yelling and causing a scene…something Kazuo was curious about. There were a lot of other personalities in the airport compared to back home on base…lively and hyper personalities. Kazuo was used to the uniform adults goofing off every now and then, but seeing something like what was happening around the airport reminded him of a zoo of sorts.

"Back." Kaz snapped Kazuo out of his daze. "Got you some chocolate." He held out a small bowl of ice-cream to Kazuo, which he happily took.

"Thanks, Dad!" He grabbed a hold of the plastic spoon that was half-way buried into the ice-cream and started digging in. Kaz held some other snacks in his arms before stuffing them into his carry-on. Chips, granola bars, soda cans…all yummy stuff. "Hey, Dad…" Kazuo began as he swallowed some ice cream. "We're sitting together, right?" Not to be mean to anyone else, but Kazuo didn't want to sit next to someone random on his first plane ride.

"We sure are." Kaz smiled as he sat down next to him. He started digging into his own chocolate ice-cream. "Nervous?" Kaz elbowed his son in the arm.

"Psh, no." Kazuo lied. It wasn't a BIG lie. He instantly regretted it. "Well…it's not going to be bad, right?"

Kaz finished his ice-cream really quick before answering Kazuo. "You remember sometimes when the helicopter would shake randomly on the way here?"

"Yeah." Kazuo nodded as he put another spoonful of ice-cream in his mouth.

"Well, that's called turbulence. That's the worst thing we'll probably get." He stood up and threw his paper bowl into a trashcan a few feet away before returning. "That's the only thing to worry about, and it's not even that bad." Kazuo felt a weight lift off his chest as he let out a sigh of relief. "Riding in a plane is the safest form of transportation." He winked.

"Phew." Kazuo audibly exhaled again. Kazuo finished his ice-cream and threw it away. When he sat back down in his chair, an old Japanese couple stopped in front of them and said something Kazuo couldn't understand. With an eyebrow raised, he looked at his dad who seamlessly spoke back to them in the same language. The conversation lasted a couple of minutes before the couple walked off and sat somewhere in the waiting area. "What was that about?"

"They were saying how you looked so much like me." Kaz smiled. "I need to teach you Japanese."

"That would be cool. I already know a little bit of _español_." Kazuo pointed to his chest with his thumb. "Mom's been teaching me a little."

"She has, huh?" Kaz crossed his arms. "Maybe you could speak Japanese, Spanish, _and_ English like me. Whaddaya say?"

"Really?! That would be cool!" Kazuo smiled and shifted his butt in his seat to sit cross-legged. "What kind of things are we gonna do in Japan?"

"Well, I have to finish paying off a boat, but I wanted to pay a visit to your grandmother. We'll do that after I do all that business stuff."

"I have a grandma?" Kazuo raised his eyebrow and cocked his head at Kaz.

"You do. Her name is Takeda Kiyo but you would call her obaasan."

"Oh-baah-sahn?" Kazuo repeated slowly. "Oh-baah-sahn Takeda?"

"No, no." Kazuo chuckled a little. "You would just call her obaasan. Kiyo is her first name, but you don't have to call her that."

"Obaasan." Kazuo repeated quietly. "Can you remind me before I meet her? I want her to think I'm cool."

"I'm sure she already thinks you are." Kaz smiled and ruffled Kazuo's hair. A grandma he didn't know about, huh? He wondered if _she_ knew about _him_! The thought of his mom's parents crossed his mind. Why hadn't he met any of them? "Too bad I don't have a picture of her. I lost it a few years ago." He frowned.

"That's alright, Dad. She'll just be happy we came to visit!" Kazuo held up a peace sign before returning his hand to his lap. Kaz just smiled at his words as if he was trying to process what he was saying.

"Yeah, you're right, kiddo."

"Where does she live?"

"Yokosuka. We lived close to the ocean. Our house turned into a little convenience shop."

"Yokosuka?" Kazuo questioned the pronunciation.

"You got it. We're going to land at the Haneda Airport in Tokyo and then hitch a ride south." The idea of traveling more once they arrived hit Kazuo in the lazy bone. Sitting on a plane only to stand for maybe an hour and then go back to sitting for a few more hours. Ugh.

It took another half hour or so before the plane was finally ready to be boarded. Eventually, Kaz and Kazuo had found their seats in the middle of the plain. Kazuo called the window seat and without a doubt, Kazuhira let him have it. The plane was spacious…yet claustrophobic at the same time. Being on a plane for the first time, Kazuo didn't really know what the heck to think.

And then the flight attendant announced it was going to be a seventeen and a half hour flight. _Seventeen hours_. Kazuo sulked in his seat. "Dad, do I have to stay awake?"

"No." Kaz laughed. "You can sleep whenever you want."

"Good." Kazuo looked out the window as the plane started to take off. It started off slow…nothing special. "Do you have my passport, Dad?"

"I sure do. They wouldn't have let you on the plane without it." Kaz responded. The plane made a few more turns.

"I don't want to be stranded." Kazuo added, still looking out the window…expecting something to happen. This plane was taking forever to take off!

"I would never let that happen." His dad chuckled. "I'm pretty sure your mom would kill me."

"Yeah. Mom loves you, she wouldn't _want_ to kill you."

"Phew." Kazuo snapped his head to his dad who had swiped at his forehead as if he was wiping sweat off his brow. "Hey Kazuo, we're about to take off. We're lined up on the runway." Kaz pointed to the window.

"Really?!" Kazuo looked out the window another time and not a moment later, the plane started to accelerate…FAST! Kazuo's jaw dropped as the plane started to lift off the ground and glide into the sky. "Wow that's cool." Kazuo examined the city below shrink smaller and smaller. Soon, they were above the clouds and he couldn't see anything below!

A few minutes of ascending, the pilot chimed on the speakers. "Passengers, you are now free to walk aboard if you'd like an unbuckle your seat belts. In case of extreme turbulence, we will ask you to be seated." Kazuo was mesmerized by the fact they were so high up. Couldn't see a thing outside, but it was way cool anyway. Kazuo shut the window shade and tapped his fingers on his lap.

"Hey, Dad…how did you and Mom meet?"

"Oh wow." Kaz scratched the back of his head and looked to the ceiling of the plane as he attempted to recollect the memories. "That was so long ago…and a little embarrassing now that I think of it."

"What's embarrassing about it?"

"That's exactly something your mother would ask." Kaz crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, I didn't like your mom too much at first just by nature of what sides we were on. I was on the loosing side and had attempted to run away to save my own life. Being stupid at the time, I tripped a series of traps that hurt me pretty bad." Kaz winced at the memory. "Your mom and our Boss had found me nearly half dead, but I wanted to take them out with me." Kazuo leaned in closer, anticipating what had happened next. "Your mom, being the amazing person she is, jumped in and kept me from pulling the pin on a grenade that I was hiding." Kaz grabbed a hold of Kazuo's hand with both of his. "Just like this. She held on super tight and wouldn't let go. She wouldn't let me pull that damn pin. She glared at me with her beautiful green eyes and called me a coward." Kaz let go of Kazuo's hands.

"Mom's cool." Kazuo declared, nodding his head.

"She sure is. She even thwarted a plan of mine _after_ she had embarrassed me in a series of tests that would eventually lead me into joining her group. She's one hell of a woman. And then I told myself that I was going to marry her someday. Of course, she didn't know it at the time. She thought I was the most irritating person on the planet…but I snuck my way in." Kaz winked. Kazuo smiled at his father's story.

"Mom sure does love you a whole lot." Kazuo admitted. "I'm happy you do, too."

"Love isn't always easy…" Kaz started. "But it's worth it." Kazuo rubbed his eyes. "Are you tired, kiddo?"

"Yeah." Kazuo shifted his position and leaned his head against his father's arm. "I'm gonna nap." He admitted he was tired. The excitement of traveling with his dad was the only thing keeping him awake.

* * *

 **LYDIA**

 **July 13, 1983: 11:00**

Tortuguero…what a fascinating place. Birds, dense forest, wild animals and sea creatures…no doubt this place was alive. Pequod stayed with the chopper as Falcon and Lydia removed their things and prepared themselves for travel. The air was humid and salty. The ocean waves to the east echoed and roared through every leaf and tree.

The airport was indeed small and private as Kaz had mentioned. It was an empty run-way and single storage center. To the west, about four-hundred feet stretched a concrete path that led to a small docking bay. Upon approaching a small boat, seemingly waiting for both Falcon and Lydia, stood a man with a big smile on his face. "Welcome, travelers!" He waved and tipped the beak of the ball-cap he had positioned on his bald head. He was an older gentleman with a salt and pepper beard. His eyebrows were bushy and seemed like they would cover half of his forehead…they definitely needed a trim. "Cabinas, sí?"

"Por favor!" Lydia responded. "Gracias, señor." Falcon and Lydia boarded onto the small boat. The captain fired up the engine and proceeded to head north up the water-way. The breeze felt nice. The water was calm.

"You here to take care of our ghost problem?" The captain spoke with a heavy accent.

"That's the plan." Lydia responded. "Can you give us any insight?"

"Just that he's killed all of our tourists! Even the sea turtles are scared!"

"We'll find him." Falcon spoke up. "No worries, sir."

"The village saved up a lot of money to bring you here." The captain added. "You better." The man grabbed a hold of a walkie-talkie that was strapped to his belt and held it up to his lips before speaking in Spanish.

"What is he saying?" Falcon whispered to Lydia, attempting to not appear disrespectful at the language barrier.

"He's saying that he's got us and bringing us in." Lydia translated. "Good thing one of us knows Spanish." She chuckled. It took a little while before they were greeted by three village people at the dock that led into the small town.

"Hola!" The eldest man greeted.

"Buenas tardes, señor!" Lydia responded back as she readied herself to step out of the boat. "Habla usted Inglés?"

"Sí! Welcome!" This must be the head of the village. An older gentleman with tan skin, round in the belly, and on the short side. Next to him stood two other men who were a little younger and skinnier…almost looked like twins. "I'm Esteban. These are my sons, Enrique y Carlos!" He motioned to them.

"Ah, I see." Lydia smiled as she stepped off the boat. She held out her hand for a shake which the man happily took. "Iris. This here is Charging Falcon." Lydia nodded her head to him. "You mind if we head somewhere private where we can talk?" Lydia inquired.

"Follow me!" He motioned his head as they made their way through the small town. The homes were colorful and well put together. There were a few people out fishing and others farming, selling things, the usual. Lydia didn't see as many tourists as she was expecting. "We get most of our revenue from the tourists! As you can see, we aren't doing so well." Esteban spread out his arms to motion to the un-bustling area.

"You must be a mind reader." Lydia joked as they approached the largest home. It was two-stories high and painted white on the outside, nothing to be too impressed with.

"Come in. Mi casa es tu casa."

"Gracias." Lydia nodded and motioned for Falcon to follow her into the home.

"Please, set your guns down by the door." Esteban noted.

"All do respect, we'll hold onto them." Lydia responded. "We won't be here long."

"I understand." A look of discomfort washed over his face. He turned to his sons and ordered them to go get water for the invited guests. "This phantasma has been stealing all out tourists. People are scared to even come to our little town. The other cities around have been dwindling on tourism, too."

"Tell me what you know." Lydia urged. "The majority of people went missing north of here. Any point of interests. Sightings?"

"No. Lo siento." Esteban frowned. "Although, my son swears to have seen him. His clothes were the color of blood."

"Can I talk to your son about it?" Lydia questioned as she briefly looked at Falcon.

"Carlos!" Esteban called out as his son, as if on queue, walked out of the other room with two glasses of water in hand. "Tell them about what you saw."

"Oh…" Carlos began, handing the waters to Lydia and Falcon. "I was on a morning ride in my canoe con mi amigo. I was about to pass the Río la Suerte and that's when I saw it." Lydia could hear the shake in his voice. He suddenly broke out in a sweat. "He was standing beyond the trees. I almost didn't see him. He just stood there staring at us." Lydia narrowed her eyes.

"Did you get a description? Did he show any intent to attack you?"

"No. No. He just stood there. Almost as if he was dead. I just looked away for a moment and he had just disappeared. We were…spooked. So we turned around and came back to the town."

"As I imagine you would." Lydia nodded. "Do you remember which direction of the main channel he was on?"

"South. Near the first break to the Río la Suerte. The trees there are thick with not a lot of room to move."

"Mind if we take your canoe, kid?"

"Be my guest." He responded. "Father, can I take them to it?" Lydia downed the water in her glass before setting the object of the nearest table.

"Yes. Go son, be careful." Lydia looked at Falcon and motioned him to walk outside.

This kid seemed pretty frightened at what he saw. Maybe the "Bloody Phantom" was making a statement? The 'if you see me, don't ever come back here again' kind of statement. Lydia crossed her arms over her chest. She could only imagine what it would feel like in the moment to see something that frightening. Dead eyes staring, devilish grin stretching. Peeking out from the depths of the forest to send a warning. Little did this perpetrator know that that warning would be his last.

Lydia and Falcon paddled on the canoe for a couple of hours before reaching their destination. The somewhat mirky water from the Río la Suerte mixed with fresh water from further inland. "He said was about to pass the river when he saw our perp toward the South." Lydia looked to her left as her and Falcon stayed put in the canoe. The woods were deep and dark, even with the sunlight breaking through the thick leaves.

As Lydia stared into the darkness, uncertainty hung in the warm, humid air. New sounds emerged from beyond the dense foliage as the wind carried the forrest's calls. The uncertainty turned into nervousness as she caught a small metallic glimpse move between trees. It was fast. Something not anyone would catch if they weren't on the look-out for something.

"Did you see that?" Lydia asked in a low voice.

"No." Falcon answered back, just as quiet. Lydia's eyes fell on a sloped formation of land where they could dock their canoe for the time being while they investigate. The water rippled and sloshed around as they parked their boat and set their oars aside. Lydia adjusted her gear and cracked her neck. "Sub-C, what did you see earlier?"

"Something metallic." She answered. "Not sure what it could be, but it was something that didn't belong."

"Must mean we're close…or he knew we were coming." Rain began to lightly trickle down from the scattered gray clouds in the sky. The drops prickled at her skin annoyingly before she took a step into the forest. "Just our luck." She whispered. "Rain is going to make it harder for anything to hear us…but that also works the other way around. Watch your back, Falcon."

"Got it." He nodded. Water ran off the slippery leaves that loomed high above the crumbly, wet ground. Bugs flew around aimlessly trying to find shelter from the rain-drops. Thunder boomed in the distance and creaked with the sound of the blowing branches. The humidity was now thick on their tongues, making it a little harder to breathe.

Lydia couldn't move without some type of plant touching her skin. The denseness of the foliage around her made her want to cave in to claustrophobia. It was as if instead of being stranded out at sea, she was submerged in a million different types of plants. Vines looked like snakes and the thick leaves on the ground looked like beetles. Not a thing was familiar. Even after exploring through Russian, Colombian, and other Costa Rican forests, nothing topped the density of this one.

Unkept and wild was this forest. Anxiousness filled Lydia's bloodstream and swiftly traveled to every corner of her body. The discomfort that enveloped her was the embodiment of the forest itself. The water dripping from the sky ran down her skin like water trickling down a window. Lydia took out her combat knife and carved an arrow into a tree. Pointing back to where they can find their way out. The deeper they travelled into the forest, the more light had started to fail them.

Lightning lit part way as it crackled through the afternoon sky. Thunder boomed even louder as the storm continued to loom overhead. With the new wind, the smell of rotten plants made their way into Lydia's nostrils. Putrid, expired, decaying plants blowing from the south west. There was a familiar stench mixed in with the humidity. "Do you smell that?" Falcon whispered as he held the collar of his shirt up to his nose. Flesh. Decaying flesh.

"Yeah. Be on your guard, I have a feeling we're getting closer."

As Lydia marked another tree with her knife, Falcon hummed at something. She turned her head and saw him trying to make something out in the distance. "I think I see something. Doesn't look like its moving. And whatever that smell is, it looks like we're getting closer." Falcon cleared his throat.

"Agreed." Lydia nodded and sheathed her knife. She took her pistol and brought it to her side. "Let's check it out." She nodded her head for the both of them to continue. As the leaves rustled under them, she could hear something was out of place. A pace slightly off from their own footsteps.

Lydia held up her left hand and closed her fist for them to stop. She looked to her right and then her left. She pivoted on her right leg to look behind them. Nothing. The rain must have been playing tricks on her. Lydia nodded her head for the two of them to continue onwards, hearing the light third shuffle linger behind them.

Lydia's green eyes focused on the object Falcon had pointed out earlier. Although…this was no object. Falcon began to breathe heavily the closer they got. Lydia found herself clenching her teeth together. They could see the patch of Diamond Dogs proudly on display on one of their missing men. "Raccoon." Falcon angrily spat at the sight of his friend.

Raccoon had come to an unsightly end. His entire body was stuck between two spiked traps that engulfed his torso. Bits of his dried-out insides were stuck to the soil below, regaining moisture from the rain. His body was pale and eyes wide open. "We're close." Lydia gulped. "Watch out for traps, we have no idea what's ahead."

"Or who. We should see how this trap works before we move on. We might be able survive a little longer." Lydia agreed and tucked her nose under the collar of her shirt as she knelt down close to the trap. Instantly, she saw water drip off of clear fishing line.

"Trip wire." She ran her finger along the loose line. "He's using clear fishing line. The rain is barely making it visible. Shit."

"These could be anywhere." Falcon knelt down to her right. "We were lucky not to step on one earlier." No kidding. Lydia's thoughts grew dark. This guy was dangerous and a professional.

Shuffling started again from behind. Lydia quickly turned her head to look behind them. Nothing. They were being followed. No…not followed… _stalked_. They were prey. Lydia's eyes shifted from tree to tree as the shuffling grew closer. She readied her Burkov at her side as she attempted to keep her heart at a steady pace. The bushes beyond a thick line of trees rustled. Lydia cocked and pointed her gun, as did Falcon.

They knelt side by side, waiting for the rustling to stop. Within an instant, a small pig hopped and scurried out of the foliage. "You've got to be kidding me." Falcon and Lydia sighed. Lydia turned her head toward Falcon and instantly was overwhelmed with a fountain of blood blinding her goggles. "Shit!" Lydia launched herself up and took off her goggles and tossed them to the side. Lydia's eyes fixed themselves on Falcon hanging above the ground briefly before dropping to the ground. A meat-hook lingered above Falcon as he hit the ground, lifeless. His head was split open from his right eye; the force of the hook caused him to split right open.

Lydia's eyes followed the light and blood-stained rope up and over a tall branch. Crimson. He was standing atop the branch, reeling in his rope and hook. He wrapped the rope around his right forearm tightly. The heavy dark red clothing stood out like a sore thumb among the trees. She couldn't see his eyes, but could she see the haunting grin on his face. Lydia was weighed down with dread as he jumped out of the tree and to the ground below.

He hit the ground with a boom.

Lydia aimed her Burkov and shot without hesitation. She saw the bullet penetrate his thick clothing, but he still walked. How?! Lydia pulled the trigger again, only to elicit the ghost to run in closer. Bullets were not affecting him. "What the hell?!" In his left hand glistened a machete he had unsheathed from across his back. Rusted.

Lydia's heart raced in her chest. As she holstered her gun and reached for her combat knife. The man had moved with the wind that was now malevolent. The man towered over her with the sickening smile stretching over his crooked jaw. She could barely catch a look at him before dodging an incoming hack with his machete.

Lydia rolled to the right and felt something push down below her. A breathless curse left her mouth as she dropped to the ground from her rolling position to avoid the clamping of a trap. She log-rolled out from underneath the wooden spikes and stood herself up. "Run little angel." The man spoke. Something about his voice sounded off…it wasn't normal. Lydia looked around, he was nowhere in sight.

Laughing.

Cackling.

His menacing snickers echoed all around her.

Lydia inhaled sharply. Her ears caught on to the creaking of a branch above her. She only briefly looked up before lunging to her right to dodge an incoming attack. She could feel the force of the blade nearly ripple through her body. Lydia pivoted on her left leg and sent a kick toward the kneeling man.

He had easily dodged it by leaning to his right. He stuck out the blade and sliced just over her left ankle. Lydia instantly knelt to the ground in a reaction and lifted up her arms to block an incoming fist to her face. The man's knuckles cracked against her forearms as she was pushed back from the force of the hit. "Shit." Lydia forced herself to stand up. She readied her combat knife and threw it hard at the incoming enemy. It sunk into his right shoulder but it seemed it had no effect on him.

Before Lydia could think of rolling away, the man dropped his machete and jumped on top of her. Lydia punched him square in the cheek with her with hand before it was apprehended. Her eyes fixated themselves on the face beneath the red hood.

Saliva was dripping from his gashed-open mouth. His teeth showed themselves through burnt flesh. Green eyes stared maniacally into her own as his tongue grazed across his teeth, as if licking his lips. "I got you now, angel." Lydia attempted to lift her torso up in a fight but was overpowered when her own combat knife came crashing into her left shoulder. "Oh, you can have this back, too."

Lydia let out a blood-curdling scream as the man started to twist the blade. Lydia lifted up her torso as much as she could and smashed her forehead against his nose. As he became staggered, Lydia jerked her knees out from under him and kicked him off. "Ahhhhhhh-HAHAHAHAHA." His laughter was fused with a scream as she attempted to turn over and sprint away. She planted her hands on the bloodied mud below her and force herself up, despite the pain surging from her shoulder. As she transferred her weight to her right leg for lift-off, a hard hand gripped around her left ankle, squeezing the wound tight. Lydia yelped and turned her body to the side. She kicked with her right leg but was unsuccessful in hurting the man as he harshly pulled her toward him. He was crouching now. He let go of her squirming leg and snatched onto her shirt, pulling her toward him. With his other free-hand his fist smashed into her face. The first punch nearly knocked her unconscious. So much force. Her eyes slowly followed the second windup before she was knocked out cold.


	65. Chapter 65

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise!**

 **Author's Note: Hello, hello! :) This chapter was a punch in the gun both emotionally and...well...emotionally. After a re-write of the chapter, I feel like it is now good to deliver! I hope you enjoy the chapter as much as I did writing it!**

 **CaptainMc:** He just gets creepier from here! :o

 **Guest K:** THANK YOU SO MUCH! I worked SUPER hard on that chapter and wanted it to really pack a punch! I'm so happy you enjoyed it! :3

 **yesdudes** : Just wait for that 300 foot drop! ;) lol

 **Guest 9:** Alucard omfg I'm dying x'D The most daring crossover in franchise history.

 ****MATURE CONTENT WARNING** Torture, blood, gore, mentions of assault/rape, and some serious talk. Prepare your emotional food.**

* * *

 **"The full moon is calling, the fever is high.**

 **And the wicked wind whispers and moans.**

 **You got your demons and you got your desires…**

 **I've been searching for the daughter of the devil himself.**

 **I've been searching for an angel in white.**

 **I've been waiting for a woman who's a little of both,**

 **And I can feel her but she's nowhere in sight."**

 **-The Eagles**

* * *

Lydia could feel the jungle foliage scrape across her back as she was being dragged by her ankle. She couldn't feel the weight of her weapons on her person. The stranger must have taken them off and thrown them somewhere in the jungle. Lydia's eyes rolled in the back of her head for only a moment before returning her gaze to the man dragging her by her left ankle. There was white paint sloppily applied to his deep crimson outer-wear. Lydia squinted her eyes and attempted to focus in on the sign.

Her head fell back to the ground as she tried to make sense of the symbol, but she couldn't focus.

Her head soon felt heavy and her eyes opened to slowly focus on dark wooden flooring. Small green vines snaked out from the cracks in the floor. The smell of rotting flesh suddenly filled her nostrils, causing bile to build up in her mouth. Lydia attempted to move her arms as she slowly regained consciousness, but it was no use. They were tied above her. Lydia slowly looked up and saw her hands were tied between a rusted meat hook, still fresh with the blood of her ally. Lydia's head fell back into its neutral position where she realized the predicament she was in. Her feet were barely touching the ground. She was stripped down to her black tank-top and panties.

The house creaked as a strong gust of wind bustled by. Thunderous pounds echoed all around her.

 _"_ _Go ahead…let me ask you again."_

Lydia's shoulder ached. She looked down and saw that it had been stitched up and cleaned. How long was she out?

 _"_ _Do you know what happens when electricity collides with water?"_

 _Stomp. Stomp. Stomp. Stomp._ "No. Get out of my head, Volgen, damn you." Lydia sobbed as a flash of lightning was seen throughout the dimly-lit shack. Lydia tightly closed her eyes and when they had re-opened, she was harbored in a familiar, dastardly place. The wooden floor that was below her only moments ago was replaced with a hard, gray concrete. Quickly, Lydia raised her head to have her eyes meet with Ocelot's. His hand gently rose and cupped her right cheek. Slowly, excruciatingly, he guided his gloved fingers along her jaw line and over her lips.

 _"_ _Tell me your name."_

His lips moved slowly with finesse when he spoke. As her eyes fixated on his, Lydia noticed something move in her peripheral vision. The brute. Lydia's eyes strayed away and focused on Volgen, dressed in a long navy blue trench coat.

 _"_ _You'll never get rid of me."_

Volgen bellowed with maniacal laughter as he slowly approached Ocelot. Lydia's eyes shifted back and forth from Ocelot to Volgen. Lydia weakly pried out Ocelot's name from her vocal cords. Trying to warn him of the incoming threat. But it was no use. In an instant, Ocelot was jolting with shock. He was covered by visible electrical bolts, cascading all around his body. His pale skin started to swell as his blood boiled within him. Blisters formed and popped with blood one after the other.

The stench of searing skin filled her nostrils as Ocelot fell lifeless to the ground below. When Lydia deviated her glance from Ocelot's fading figure, she was met with Volgen face to face. He wore a nefarious grin as his eyes peered into her soul.

 _"_ _I'll come back from Hell itself and find you."_

His black pupils slowly radiated yellow. The splash of color enveloped his entire eye, glowing with malice intent. His skin blackened as she felt heat start to radiate from his entire body. Flames picked up at his feet and slithered all across his body until he was fully covered in fire. "No!" Lydia tightly shut her eyes and turned her head to the side. The flash of hot air she had felt before had disappeared, suddenly, without a trace.

Her ears tuned into heavy rain hitting onto the wooden roof and walls now surrounding her. Lydia slowly pried open her eyes and shook her head side to side. She was back in the cabin. Although she was still hanging, she felt a sense of relief wash over her as she came from the nightmare. Then, her sights fixed on something she didn't want to begin to comprehend.

Pinned up against the wall of the wooden shack were pure white feathers in the shape of wings. Between the wings was a naked, rotting carcass with skin sewn onto what muscle the figure had left. The decaying woman was positioned in some type of praying pose. Her hands clasped together and fingers intertwined. Her face was hidden behind greasy, curly, blonde hair. What the fuck was this?! Lydia could taste the bile work its way up to her mouth again. The skin sewn onto the naked girl was nearly dried out. The flesh cracked close to the edges of the skin where it was fastened into place with thick, dark sutures.

Blood was stained all over the wooden walls that she could examine in her immediate vision. The rain dripping in from the cracks in the roof freshened up what had been caked on previously. The entire shack reeked of blood, decay and death.

From behind her, a groveling noise emerged as something was attempting to hum a tune. His voice grew louder as she could make out words slowly drip from his mouth. He approached the rotting woman and placed his hand on its cheek, brushing aside some of the curly blonde hair. Her eyes went from the figure and widened when they fixed in on a white peace-sign painted onto his back.

Blonde hair. White skin. Petite or lean in figure. The man brought both of his hands to his hood and took it off as he faced the ghastly corpse. His light brown hair was longer and messy from what she could make out from behind. "I found someone for you, mi angel de la paz."

"Angel de la…paz?" Lydia groaned out. "C-ch…" At the start of the name she had almost forgotten, the man had turned around.

"Paz…is that you? Do you remember me?" He quickly closed the distance between himself and Lydia. He held her face between both of his hands. Lydia stared into his green eyes before moving to his disfigured mouth. It looked as if his own mouth was hooked and torn off. Saliva oozed out of the openings in his cheeks as he stared at her with a joyful look in his eyes. Bits of his jaw and teeth could be seen through the gaping holes on his face.

He wasn't human. Was he? Lydia's eyes grew hazed as she looked upon his figure. He was frightening, the way he stared at her…waiting for her to give him the answer. It looked as if he had been longing for someone to speak his name, as if he hadn't heard it in years. The gaze in his eye _yearned_ for it. "Paz, can you hear me?" The man questioned with a guttural voice as he lightly shook Lydia's head between his hands. His tongue moved loosely in his mouth as he spoke.

Lydia's eyelids grew heavy. "I-I'm not Paz…" Lydia groaned out. "Chico…?" The muscles in his face twitched with anger as his eyes narrowed. A mix of emotions swirled through his eyes as he attempted to comprehend what she had said. His thought process could be seen on his face as his muscles tensed and released with every second that passed.

"Ah…" He started out with a salivated sigh and then gradually grew into maniacal laughter. He squeezed Lydia's face tighter as he stared dead into her eyes. "My Paz! I can't believe it! You spoke my name! Chico!"

"Let me go." Lydia ordered with harsh eyes, attempting to ignore the pain from his hold. "I'm not Paz."

"Sí. Lo siento, angel." He let go of Lydia's face.

"Chico, didn't you hear me?!" Lydia shouted as she attempted to break free of her restraints with whatever strength she had left. "I'm NOT Paz."

"No!" He bellowed back with more ferocity. He inched his face only centimeters from her's. She could smell his foul breath as he openly inhaled and exhaled. His eyes darkened as if he became another person entirely. "One more word from you and I'll cut you open."

"Do it, then." Lydia spat in his face. Chico stepped back and collided his fist above her right eye. She didn't feel any pain on impact…everything had just faded to black.

The next time Lydia opened her eyes, she was seated and tied onto a wooden chair. She could feel her hair being tugged on. "Hmm?" Lydia hummed weakly as she shook her head from side to side.

"Your hair has grown so long, Paz." Chico vocalized from behind her. He was running his fingers across her scalp and through her long strands.

Lydia groaned. "What kind of fucked-up fantasy have you been living in, kid?"

"Fantasy?" He echoed. "You misunderstand…this is no _fantasy_. I am alive. And so are you." She could feel scissors cut away at her hair, just under her shoulders.

"If you think cutting my hair is going to make me Paz, you're highly mistaken."

"Paz…" Chico's distorted voice lingered on her name as he continued cutting her hair. Lydia's eyes looked around the room until she spotted her soaked clothes piled up on the opposite side of the room close to the rotting corpse displayed on the wall before her. She detected her iDroid peeking out from one of the pockets on her tactical harness. If she could get to it somehow, she could signal Pequod for help. That is, if he hadn't seen that her signal had been stationary for a while already.

She had to distract Chico somehow. Could she get what she wanted if she played along with his little game? Lydia swallowed hard. It was worth a shot. "Chico…" She started. "I thought you were dead."

Chico kept cutting away at her blonde hair. "I washed up ashore with you, Paz. But you were broken. You looked at me with your beautiful eyes and told me not to let you die."

"What happened to you?"

"Impact from the helicopter crash. My face tore against a blade when I was trying to swim to the surface. I found you after you had jumped from the chopper."

"Where are the other girls?" Lydia asked. "The ones that you took."

"I buried them after I gave you new skin. Your skin was so much nicer. No matter how hard I tried to care for it, the new skin I find will never be right." Lydia wanted to throw up. He had been skinning these innocent women and attaching their flesh to this decaying _doll_. Lydia looked to the figure displayed. Her eyes widened.

" _That_ must be Paz."

"She comes to me in the form of different people." Chico said. "She wanted me to make her live on just like this."

"By killing innocent girls?!"

"I'm not _killing_ them." Chico replied, neutral-toned. "I'm setting them _free_ so they can bring life to Paz. Just like you."

"You're not making any sense. You can't bring someone back from the dead! You're not differentiating yourself between real-life and fiction!" Lydia argued. "Chico, you don't want to do this. It's me, _Lydia_. Remember? From Mother Base? MSF? Sub-C?" Chico's hand stopped cutting her hair for only a brief moment before he continued. She could only imagine his loneliness. Seeing Paz in her last moments. Washing up on some random shore after being lost at sea. He must have gone crazy trying to keep Paz alive..and just to watch her die.

"She died in my arms." Chico continued cutting Lydia's hair. "She was crying out in pain as she told me to put an end to her misery in her final moments. I refused. So I watched her die. The life left her oceanic eyes in an instant. She was _confused_. Why did she want me to try and save her, yet beg to kill her at the end?" Chico spoke slowly and cautiously. "She's been watching me ever since. I mend and put her back together so she's always here with me…"

Lydia's shoulders shuttered as she continued to look at the corpse. "Does she _talk_ to you?"

"She's talking to me through you." He replied, almost matter-of-factly.

"Is that what you really think?"

"Yes." He answered. Lydia bit her bottom lip. "She tells me which girls to pick. I love her and she loves me. There's nothing that will set us apart. I can't wait to dress her in her new skin to see how she feels against me." He was sick. Lydia cringed as he brushed through her hair another time. At least Lydia didn't have to worry about him raping her, he had an obvious thing for dead girls.

If Lydia was going to make a move, now would be time. She had to act quickly, before those scissors started cutting away at her skin. "You know…if you're wanting my skin to fit _perfectly_ on her, I _could_ use some water. You don't want my skin getting dehydrated." Lydia attempted to sound _extra_ convincing. " _Paz_ would appreciate it if you took care of my skin before hand."

"Ah." Chico sighed. "You're right." He dropped her hair. She could hear his footsteps grow farther and farther away. "I'll be back, Paz." Lydia heard him place the scissors down somewhere behind her and a door open not too long after. Lydia looked over her shoulder…he was no where in sight. She waited a few minutes to be sure and the cracked her neck to prepare herself for action. Her shoulder was killing her, but she had to make a means to escape. Each of her legs were tied to the legs of the chair she was sitting in so she wouldn't be able to walk around. Her hands were bound behind her back and fastened to the back of the chair.

With all the strength she could muster, Lydia attempted to jump her body and move the chair toward her pile of clothes. The chair scooted a couple of inches. Success! Lydia maneuvered her way to the pile of clothes and stared down at it. If she were to topple to the side, the back of the chair would surely break one of her arms. But, anything was better than being skinned alive. She hopped to have her back face the pile of clothes so she had easy access to dig around with her bound hands. She forcefully swayed side to side until the chair toppled over to the left.

Lydia groaned and clenched her teeth together as she heard a crack once the chair hit the ground. Just above her left elbow, it hurt like hell, but didn't feel like it was broken. She motioned her hands toward the pile of clothing and looked over her shoulder to attempt to see what was going on. Chico could be back any minute. She had to work fast. Her hands clamped down on a hard fabric…her utility belt. Yes! Lydia fumbled with the gear until she reached the large handle of her combat knife that was neatly placed back where it belonged. Why Chico had decided to do that, she had no idea. But was grateful for the gesture. She carefully slid the knife out of its sheath and carefully held the hilt of the blade, turning it so the sharp edge was pressed up against the cloth restraints. She sawed away at the fabric awkwardly with both of her hands until she felt her right hand break free.

Lydia transferred the knife into her free hand and swung her arm around to cut her legs free. After cutting her leg bondage, she slowly stood up and cut free her left arm. Once she was liberated from the confines of the chair, Lydia looked down and examined her left bicep. She could see the bruise start to form, but she was still able to move her forearm without a problem. Lydia didn't want to attempt to raise her arm over her head due to the stab wound. She picked up her tactical harness and grabbed the iDroid out of its corresponding pocket. She turned it on, swearing at the device to work.

But it was no use. She examined the side of the device where the battery had been pulled out. "Fuck." Lydia set the iDroid down and dug through her other pockets. Her fingers wrapped around a smoke and regular grenade. Lydia set the items aside with the combat knife she had used earlier; she had to move quickly. She returned to the chair and set it up back in its original spot in the middle of the room. She glanced over at the rotting corpse and frowned. "I'm sorry, Paz." She carefully approached the figure and untied her from the wall.

Paz's corpse smelt absolutely putrid. She had been wasting away for years and years. Lydia excruciatingly wrapped her right arm around Paz's figure and dragged it to the chair where Lydia had been sitting earlier. Just as a distraction. Lydia returned to her clothes and hastily put them on, one by one. She fastened her combat knife and grenades where she could easily reach them. Lydia peered outside through one of the many cracks in the shed. It had stopped raining, but the foliage was too wet to even try and start a fire. It was getting close to sundown. Lydia carefully opened the door Chico had walked out of and looked around. Left and right. He had only been gone for almost an hour. It was a possible hour walk both ways to and from the river.

Lydia limped outside and examine the outside of the shack. It was mounted about a foot and a half off the spongy ground. Plenty of space to crawl under and hide for the time being. Lydia knelt down and took a prone position as she maneuvered her way under the shack. She pushed aside thick grass and plants that had grown out from under the shelter. The stench of decaying bodies only grew stronger the further she crawled under the shack. As she looked ahead, she brushed her right arm against something slimy. Quickly, Lydia retracted her arm and slightly turned to face a skinless corpse. A woman. Eyes gouged out by maggots and worms that crawled in and out of her body. Lydia gagged and spat up acidic bile as she looked away from the body. Looking to her left, she spotted another one, this time the muscles were a dark brown color and covered in mud and foliage. Lydia brought up the collar of her shit and fastened it over her nose before continuing to crawl to the middle of the shack. She maneuvered her way through strategically placed bodies that were being taken over by nature. Carefully, Lydia positioned herself side by side with a sunken-in woman under the middle of the shack and turned on her back. She squinted her eyes to peer through the cracks in the wooden floor. She was right under Paz.

Lydia slid her right hand to her combat knife and held it securely to her chest, attempting to ignore the bodies lying around her. She breathed calmly and deeply through her nostrils as she waited for the perfect opportunity to attack or run.

As if hearing an echo from God, himself, Lydia tuned in to the whirring of helicopter blades approaching her position. Must be pequod…but he wasn't close. He must be circling the area based on her last iDroid reading. Chico must be feeling desperate right about now which would certainly cause him to make mistakes. All she had to do was wait.

* * *

 **KAZUO**

 **July 15, 1983: 13:00**

Kazuo, for the most part, thought Japan was boring. Mostly because he was cooped up in a hotel room for the past couple of days. Kaz would be back any minute now…or at least that's what Kazuo kept telling himself for the past hour. He crashed his back on the queen-sized bed and sighed. For the past few days, he'd been attempting to make sense of Japanese cartoons and news but it was all in a language he didn't understand. It was useless for him to listen to something that he couldn't piece together.

Just like that, he heard talking come from down the hallway. It was his father's voice! Kazuo bolted up and jogged to the door. He was too short to look out the peep-hole, so he just unlocked the door and held it open as he peeked outside into the hall. His dad was facing away from him, but he was talking to a black-haired woman. She was Japanese, had pale skin, dark eyes and wore a _little_ too much makeup.

Kazuo squinted his eyes as the woman laughed at something his father had said in Japanese. He shouldn't be making other ladies laugh like that. It looked like she was in love with him or something. Gross. " _Dad_?" He called out from the room. Kaz perked up his shoulders and looked behind him. "I'm waiting for you." He impatiently added.

"Alright Kazuo, I'll be right there." He turned around and continued talking to the Japanese lady. Kazuo rolled his eyes and walked to his bag. He pulled out his iDroid and scrolled to find his mother's frequency. Wherever she was, maybe she could come pick him up. She could ditch her scary mission and they could hang out together. Once he found her name, he set it to dial…but it didn't ring.

"Ugh." He groaned and tossed the iDroid back into his bag.

Kaz had finally opened the door and walked in, breathing out a heavy sigh. "Sorry Kazuo, she wouldn't leave me alone. I'm glad you walked out and saved me."

"Mom's better." Kazuo pointed out, comparing that random woman to his mother.

"Every confrontation I have with that crazy woman, I am reminded." Kaz agreed. "Boat shenanigans are finally done. How about me and you go visit your grandma and have some fun, huh?"

"Cool." Kazuo jumped off the bed. The thought of his mother crossed his mind. Why didn't she answer? She always kept her iDroid on. Was she _EATEN?_

"Our plane doesn't leave until tomorrow night, so we have plenty of time." As Kaz started to change out of his black business attire and into more comfortable clothes, he must have noticed some type of disappointed look on Kazuo's face. "Is there something on your mind?"

Kazuo's head perked up to look at Kaz who slipped on a casual, white, cotton tee. "Have you heard anything from mom?"

"No." Kaz responded, moving his gaze from Kazuo and then to the ground. He slipped off his dress pants and put on some light blue jeans. "Why do you ask?" Kaz continued as he slipped on some white sneakers.

"Well, I called her and she didn't pick up." Kazuo drooped his head. "She said she was going somewhere dangerous and…well…I'm scared she was eaten by something."

"I don't think she was eaten." Kaz laughed. "She's fine. She's probably doing something important right now. It must be somewhere around ten P.M. where she's at? She might be sleeping." Kaz shrugged, attempting to keep his son at ease. "I'll call Pequod and check. You stay in here. I'll be right back." Kazuo dug his iDroid out of one of his bags and stepped out of the room.

Once the door shut behind Kaz, Kazuo quietly walked to the door and flushed his ear against it. "Pequod, this is Commander Miller. Had a bad feeling, just checking in…I see…let me know when you find her…out." Kazuo backed away from the door and returned to his original position.

"Her iDroid just turned off, Pequod is lookin' for her. But there's nothing to worry about." Kaz reported as he walked back into the room. Kaz fastened his hand around a small duffle bag that was sitting on top of his bed.

"Ok." Kazuo looked down, still worried.

"You can't see your grandma with a sad face on. Let's turn that frown upside-down!" Kaz ruffled Kazuo's hair. Kazuo looked up at his dad who had nodded his head for him to follow. "Come on."

Kazuo followed him out of the hotel room and down to the lobby. Once they emerged out onto the busy streets, Kaz waved down a taxi. It was about a ten minute drive until the driver turned down a road that was lined with taller bricked walls and green hedges that bore white and pink flowers. "Wow." Kazuo whispered as he looked out the window.

"We're getting close." Kaz announced. When the car traveled farther, the walls leveled out and revealed a variety of headstones that stretched in every direction. Kazuo's features fell instantly as they drove by the sea of graves. Once the car parked, Kazuo opened his door and slid out. He shut the door behind him and sighed upon looking at the main entrance of the cemetery.

Kazuo felt his father's hand rest on top of his head. "Follow me." Kaz spoke as he walked ahead. Kazuo frowned and followed his father to a line of wooden buckets that were stacked on top of one another. "I'm going to have you hold onto this." Kaz said as he grabbed one of the buckets by the handle and held it out.

Kazuo looked at the bucked and back up to Kaz who was waiting patiently for him to take it. Kazuo reached up with his right arm and took the object from his dad. "Let's go fill it up with some water." Kaz nodded his head for him to follow. Hesitantly, Kazuo followed Kaz. He felt cold the further he walked into the cemetery. People crying, holding one another, talking about old memories…this was…new. Something Kazuo couldn't wrap around his head. It felt…strange.

Kazuo looked ahead to Kaz who had stopped beside a small faucet coming from the ground. "Here, put the bucket down under the pipe and we'll fill it up." Kazuo did what he was told and watched the water fall from the pipe when Kaz twisted it on.

When the bucket filled about half-way, Kaz turned off the water flow. "Alright, she isn't too far away." Kazuo looked up at his half-smiling father before picking the bucket back up. It was about a five minute walk until they made their way down an isle with marble-like stones. Japanese symbols were etched into the graves to differentiate the individuals who were dormant beneath.

Kaz stopped six head-stones into the aisle and set down his duffle bag in front of the grave. Kazuo came to a stop and watched his dad as he grabbed out a small cleaning brush from his black bag. Gently, Kaz brushed and polished the grave with a small smile on his face. He could see small puffs of dust fly off the stone as he continued to brush the grave. Kazuo muttered something in Japanese and then placed the brush back in his bag. "Come here, Kazuo." Kaz held out his arm to motion his son to approach.

Kazuo slowly walked to the grave and frowned. "Go ahead and put the bucket down." Kaz knelt down and dug into the small bag again. He took out a small wooden ladle and a few sticks that were wrapped in some kind of decorative paper. Kaz handed a few of the sticks to Kazuo and leaned toward the grave. He placed the incense in one of two small holders that were installed into the rock. "You put yours in that one." Kaz nodded as Kazuo copied to follow suit. As Kazuo placed the incense in the holder, he heard a lighter strike next to him. Kazuo backed away and watched his father light all of the incense sticks before closing and stuffing the lighter back into his pocket.

Kaz dug into his bag and pulled out three cans of Coca-Cola and placed one can in the middle of the incense holders. After that, placed the other two at the base of the grave before grabbing onto the wooden ladle and dipping it into the bucket of water. Carefully, Kaz lifted up the ladle and poured it over the top of the grave.

Kazuo watch the water drip down the stone as it slowly caressed every bump and etch in the grave's design. Kaz gently placed the ladle onto the ground and slowly knelt down to position himself up on his knees. "Kneel down like this."

Kazuo coped his father and positioned himself next to him. "Now clasp your hands together." Kaz flushed his palms against one another in a prayer that Kazuo copied. Kaz slightly bowed his head before resting his hands on his lap.

Kazuo took in the motions and closed his eyes. He held his hands in a prayer position and bowed his head before raising it and opening his eyes. Kazuo dropped his arms and looked at his father who was smiling down at him. "Good job, son." Kaz picked up one of the cokes and handed it to Kazuo. He turned his attention to the grave and smiled. "Mom, this is your grandson, Kazuo." He spoke to the grave as if it were a living person. "I'm sorry it took me so long to come visit you. A lot has happened. We brought you your favorite drink and send out prayers that you are resting well." Kaz grabbed a hold of one of the cans of coke and handed it to Kazuo. "Go ahead and introduce yourself." Kaz motioned.

"Oh…uhhh…hi…obaasan?" Kazuo slowly spoke half-addressing the grave and half-addressing his father to see if he got the pronunciation right. "I'm Kazuo. It's nice to meet you." He grabbed the coke from his father. "Dad said you think I'm cool…I hope I'm still cool." He blabbed. Kaz chuckled at his son's respect. Kaz opened up his own can of coke and tapped it against the can that was sitting in front of the incense.

"To you, mother." Kaz said something, again, in Japanese and took a sip of the coke before placing it to the ground. Kazuo opened his can of coke and copied his father, again.

"To you, obaasan." Kazuo slowly mouthed out before taking a sip of the bubbly liquid.

"Coca-Cola was your grandma's favorite drink." Kaz chuckled. "Every time I come here, I offer one to her and have one, myself."

"Why didn't you tell me she was dead, dad?" Kazuo inquired, looking up at his father.

"I wanted to bring you here to teach you something." Kaz frowned.

"Ok?" Kazuo questioned as he took another sip of his cola.

"I was a little older than you when I found out your grandma was sick. At the time, I was too young to understand what was going on…too naive. I didn't know why she put me to work in our shop and didn't notice that with every passing day, she was fading away." Kaz focused on the grave as Kazuo studied his facial features. "Death is cruel and unexpected. It will take things from you in the blink of an eye and never give it back." He paused. Fists clenched on his lap. "After I had heard that your grandma died…well…I only wished that I had spent more time with her. I missed the way she made curry and her miso soup that she seasoned with way too much salt. I missed how I would get to talk to her every day. Suddenly, I couldn't have that any more. I couldn't see her smiling face or hear her call me by my name. Kazuo, you never know when someone is going to die or how…it's always unexpected. Such as why I didn't tell you about your grandma. No matter how much you want to prepare yourself for something like this to happen, it's always going to bite you like a snake."

Kazuo frowned and looked at the grave. "You're not sick, are you, Dad?"

"Me?" Kaz looked down at his son and adjusted his aviators. "No." Kazuo's lip started to tremble until Kaz outstretched his arm and pulled his son in for a one-armed hug.

"Your mom and I have a dangerous job. I need you to understand that one day…something might happen to us. We might get hurt really bad. There are bad men out in the world and if something happens to me or your mom, I need you to stay strong for us, ok?"

"Ok." Kazuo rubbed his eyes with his hands.

"It's important to spend time with one another and cherish these moments." Kaz gripped onto his son a little tighter. "I realize that. That's why I brought you here. No matter how cruel this life is, you are my son and always will be. No matter if I grow old and if we grow apart, I want you to know that I will always love you. You are my one blessing in this awful world. I don't want you standing over my grave one day with your brain swimming in regret wishing you could've spent one more hour with me. And I don't want to die knowing I didn't give you the best life. I'll try to be a better father for you, Kazuo. I promise." Kazuo felt the wet tears from his father drip onto the top of his head. Kazuhira may have wept silent tears but they fell the loudest.


	66. Chapter 66

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the MG/MGS Franchise!**

 **Author's Note: Why not post today, too?!**

 **Guest K:** Probably the very last time we'll all see him like that, too :'(

 ****MATURE CONTENT WARNING** Violence, Terror, Gore, Mentions of Suicide. Not joking, this is a very mature chapter. As I mentioned way back in Chapter 1, please read with a mature mind.**

* * *

 **"Hello darkness, my old friend.**

 **I've come to talk with you again.**

 **Because a vision softly creeping,**

 **Left its seeds while I was sleeping.**

 **And the vision that was planted in my brain,**

 **Still remains,**

 **Within the sound of silence."**

 **-Simon & Garfunkel**

* * *

 **LYDIA**

 **Day: Unknown, 1983: ?:?**

Scurrying of insects fluttered by Lydia's ears and little legs scurried over her body as she lay still under the wooden shack. Minutes, maybe hours had passed as she made her company with the nauseating decaying bodies of the missing women. The humidity in the air was thick, almost suffocating as the sun fell beyond the horizon and tucked in for the night. Her skin dripped with moisture and shivered as the wind blew the fowl smell through the shack's foundation.

The forest was loud, howling, cooing, the trees swayed with one another and the leaves danced. Lydia felt herself sinking into the damp mud beneath her. It was as if the hellish earth wanted to swallow her whole. As Lydia focused on keeping her breath steady as the earth shuffled around her. A lantern peeked out from the darkness in her peripheral vision.

The mud sloshed and squished with every heavy step Chico took. Lydia gripped onto the knife hilt tighter and covered the blade with her left hand to keep it from reflecting the light coming from his lantern. He was singing a mournful tune, the same one she had heard hours earlier. "Here's to you, Nicola and Bart…" His voice sounded like he was from the deepest depths of hell. She could hear the saliva overfill in his mouth and audibly slurp to keep it from draining out of the holes in his cheeks.

As Chico continued to switch off between humming and singing his footprints cracked small twigs and crushed the moist grass as he approached the shack. Closer. Closer. The creaking of the wood gave Lydia the signal he was final on top of the wooden foundation that kept the shack from sinking into the ground. Her wrist twisted as she pointed the knife up toward the floor of the house. She steadied the tip between the wooden panels as she heard the door creak open.

"Paz?" Chico sounded out, almost inaudible. Chico's shadow casted itself through the vicinity. His footsteps made the wood groan under his weight as he approached Paz sitting in the chair. Lydia's eye caught onto Chico hovering above her. She positioned the knife below his foot and waited for her opportunity. "Paz, you forgot your wings." Chico said matter of factly. "You look so beautiful sitting there." Chico circled the chair, slowly. He took off the red cloak and draped it over Paz's shoulders. "There. You should be warm now." He cooed. "What did you say?" He leaned in closer to Paz. "You say you want me?" Lydia winced as she held the weapon tighter. "Wait…you say you want to fly away?" He asked, offense coming off his tone. "How many times do I have to tell you, you cannot leave."

Anger swelled in his voice. A pool of saliva crashed to the ground a seeped through the cracks of the wooden floor and onto Lydia's neck. Lydia skin crawled as she attempted to keep still as the warm liquid trailed down the right side of her nape. Chico knelt down on one knee and unlatched the thick machete from his back. Lydia positioned her knife closer to his foot as his body began to crunch to peer closer to the floor boards.

Chico's soulless green eyes peered down into Lydia's as he nonchalantly leaned against his Machete he had propped into the floor. "Come out, come out." He wore a grin with an agape mouth. He had easily found her, some of the other girls might have had the same idea…but none of them had a knife.

Lydia grunted out as she thrusted the tip of blade up through the crack of the floor. The blade seamlessly penetrated through his boot and through his left foot. As Lydia pulled out the knife, Chico let out a blood curdling yell that sounded like something from her nightmares. She could feel the thick, crimson liquid drip out the bottom of his boot and onto her shirt.

Chico shifted his body, quickly, and held the machete hilt with both of his hands. He positioned the blade above her position. Barely seeing the glint of the blade, Lydia rapidly rolled to the right and onto her stomach as the machete blade crashed through the floor. She could feel the impact break through the wood and cut through some of her hair. "BITCH!" She felt the wood creak above her as Chico limped to follow her. When he was above her, she could hear the majority of his weight shift to his right side.

Lydia rolled to her left and onto her back and jerked the knife up as Chico crashed his machete through the floor. Wood chips flew everywhere when the blade broke the surface. Lydia jammed the knife up through another crack in the floor and stabbed into his left foot again. This time, he didn't scream and instantly lifted his foot up. Lydia's eyes widened as he smashed his left boot toward her head. Lydia sharply inhaled and jolted her body into a carcass laying dormant beside her. Chico's foot harshly fell through the wood and onto the ground.

Lydia moved her body back into position and grappled onto his stuck leg. She flipped the knife around in her hand and stabbed it through his left calf. Blood instantly dripped down as the blade cut through his skin. Chico shouted with a fusion of anger and pain as the blade of his machete pierced through the floor above her another time. The blade slid and cut into her right cheek and ear. Lydia felt her skin tear open and the cartilage in her ear break as the blade sliced easily though her.

Lydia let out a shriek before leaving her knife in Chico's leg, rolling away from the machete and back into a prone position. Lydia sloppily crawled her way out from under the house and stood in front of the shack. Lydia's hand formed around the deep cut on her right cheek and ear. Once she retracted her hand, she stared at the blood for only a moment before smearing it onto her shirt. She reached into one of her vest's pockets and wrapped her hand around the grenade. Lydia jogged to the door and kicked it open before pulling the pin and tossing it inside.

Lydia heard Chico grunt as he was attempting to get out of the floor. "Get back here!" He yelled to Lydia as she bolted away from the house. Lydia turned back to the house to see Chico had regained his footing on level ground and dive out of the shack moments before the grenade went off. Kneeling, he violently turned to the shack and screamed out Paz's name. The Shack toppled as the grenade blew the walls to bits. "You…you…"

When Chico turned around, his eyes reflected the moonlight. He opened his mouth and let out a scream that terrorized Lydia. Lydia stood petrified as Chico let out his anger, sorrow, regret. All his emotions bottled up were let out in that elongated, guttural break-through. The skin around his mount puffed in and out when his scream died. He gripped his right arm around the hilt of the blade sticking out of his left leg.

With a grunt, Chico pulled out Lydia's knife from his leg with little hesitation. Lydia shifted her legs and arms to stand defensively as Chico stood up as if her were attached to strings. "You killed her!" Chico shouted. "She's gone!"

Lydia narrowed her eyes as she carefully watched Chico slump toward her. It's like she was watching an injured mutt fake out an injury before it would jump up and bite her. Lydia reached into the pocket in her vest that harbored the smoke grenade. She pulled it out and waited for his first lethal advance. Chico suddenly straightened his hunched back grinned hauntingly at Lydia. "I'm going to cut you open." Chico threatened through his menacing glare. "You're going to pay for what you did to my angel!"

"Then do it!" Lydia enticed. As she pulled the pin on the smoke grenade, Chico changed the gripping on Lydia's combat knife and lunged forward, throwing the knife toward Lydia at deadly speed. Lydia ducked and tossed the grenade toward Chico. Black smoke rose from the canister and surrounded Chico. He coughed as he inhaled the black smoke. Lydia bolted into the cloud of smoke and rammed her right shoulder into Chico, who hadn't moved. Lydia lunged forward another time saw his silhouette break through the smoke as he sent a punch in her direction. Lydia turned her body and grabbed his wrist with her right hand. She forced his arm down and slammed her left fist under his elbow.

She felt and heard the joint crack and break on impact. Chico let out another scream as Lydia threw him to the ground. As the smoke started to clear, she could hear helicopter blades approaching again. "Kill me." Chico held onto his arm and knelt in front of Lydia. He was exhausted, unable to move. "I can't live without her." Lydia, taking deep breaths walked past Chico and picked up her knife where Chico had thrown it.

He looked miserable sitting there. Empty tears fell from his dead eyes as he stared at Lydia. No emotion. He was empty now that he apparently lost his world. Lydia positioned herself back in front of him and tossed her knife at his knees. Chico watched it hit the ground, then looked back up to Lydia. "Do it yourself, _fantasma sangriento_."

"Heh. Fantasma sangriento, eh?" Chico chuckled and coughed. "Is that what they called me?" He gripped onto the knife with his left hand. The title spoke for itself. He placed the blade against the bare skin of his right forearm. "Fitting. Paz was my angel and I was her ghost that lingered." Lydia looked away as Chico dug the blade into his skin and dragged it up his arm. Blood spilt as each vein in his arm opened wide to welcome death. When he stopped grunting, Lydia returned her gaze to him. He was crying, still.

"Will she see me, Lydia?" He looked up at her as dark, crimson blood flooded from his arm. "Will she know that I love her?" Lydia stood silently as his body started to sway as he fought with all his might to stay alive to hear what he needed to. "Lie to me." Chico slurred. "Please." Chico looked at her with the last string of humanity he had in his eyes.

Lydia stayed silent as Chico's head lolled down. His body fell to the side and onto the ground. Lydia looked up to the dark sky and frowned at the moon that shone brightly on the surroundings. Lydia craned her head back toward the shack that had collapsed from the grenade. She slowly dropped to her knees and sat cross-legged on the grass. She could hear Pequod's slowly hover over the area and scan the area with his spotlight. It didn't take long for him to focus the light in on her.

The speaker turned on and Pequod's voice loudly came through. "Sub-C, is that you? Raise your hand if you're alright." Lydia shielded her eyes and quickly lifted up her right hand. "There's a place that I could land a couple hundred meters out. Wait right here and I'll come get you." He announced. Lydia held a thumbs up and dropped her arms back to her sides.

Her green eyes focused on Chico a few meters away from her. He was so innocent all those years ago. Playing on Mother Base with Nuke, talking about rare "monsters" to Snake. He had such an early start to war and violence. But, how did he snap into this monster? The questions flooded Lydia's mind.

Her thoughts turned to Kazuo. He was the only kid on Mother Base. What was to stop him into turning into someone like Chico had? Tears welled in Lydia's eyes that she had wiped away with her forearm. Kazuo was a sweet, talented kid. He was smart, innocent, but he is breakable. Lydia couldn't imagine her boy turning into some monster.

Out from behind her, she could hear someone emerge from the trees. "Sub-C, it's Pequod." He announced himself. "You doing alright?"

"No." Lydia simply answered. Pequod knelt down next to her and wrapped his arm around her back. Lydia draped her arm over his shoulders as he lifted her up off the ground.

"I take it you found him?" Pequod inquired. Lydia only let out a puff of air in response. Pequod led her back to the chopper and helped her inside. Once they were both in the chopper, Pequod shut the cargo door and locked it from the inside. "We'll rest here for the night." Pequod said. "Here's our bag o' snacks." He tossed the bag to Lydia's feet as she made herself comfortable on one of the chairs.

"Thanks." She reached down and grabbed onto a granola bar. She took a bite into it and then reached for a canister of water that Pequod held out for her to take. Lydia let the food travel to her empty stomach which granted her instant relief once she washed it down with water.

"I take it Falcon's dead?"

"Can we talk about this later? I'm awfully tired." Lydia cut off his question.

"Oh, sure, Sub-C. Sorry." Pequod apologized. Lydia finished the granola bar and downed a few more gulps of water before shutting her eyes and leaning her head against the side of the chopper.

When morning broke, Lydia was woken up by Pequod. "Here, Sub-C. There was an extra pair of clothes packed away. They might be a little big for you, but you should change out of those ones you're wearing now."

"Oh." Lydia tiredly responded and took the clothes from Pequod.

"I'll step out and give you some privacy. I cleaned up and patched up your wounds, too, while you were asleep."

"Thanks, Pequod." Lydia grumbled out as he jumped out of the helicopter. Lydia redressed herself in baggy cargo pants and an over-sized olive tee-shirt and threw her old clothes out to the jungle. Sore, she hopped out of the helicopter and sighed. "Pequod, can I borrow your iDroid?" Lydia asked. "My battery was destroyed."

"Sure." He handed Lydia the device. She called Kaz and waited for him to accept the transmission.

"This is Miller." He spoke, not expecting Lydia to answer.

"Kaz, it's Lydia."

"Lydia, you sound horrible." Kaz said.

"Understatement of the century. And I doubt you're going to believe my report, either." Lydia frowned. "I found the bodies of the missing women and a couple of our guys. We'll call the local authorities and have the bodies taken care of. The forest is littered with traps, so I'm not going to go back looking for our missing men, but I can clarify that they're dead. I am going to bring two bodies back, tho."

"Alright." Kaz acknowledged. "I'm glad you're alright. Uhhh…it seems like Kazuo wants to talk to you."

"Kaz, I can't talk to him right now. Please understand."

"I'll let him know." Kaz responded. "See you soon."

"Right." Lydia thanked Pequod and started to lead the way back to Chico's camp. On the way, Pequod called the local authorities and they met the squad there. The area was cleared out and the bodies were stuffed in individual body bags. All of the missing women were accounted for, but needed to be identified before releasing everything to the news. Lydia was released with the bodies of Chico and Paz who were in their own bags.

On their way back, they had stopped by the small town and confronted the mayor who paid her with a large envelope filled with cash. He thanked Diamond Dogs for their sacrifices and for helping their town. Now, they could all live in peace and begin making money off the tourists again.

The trip back to Mother Base was a depressing one. Pequod didn't ask about the details and Lydia remained silent through the entire ride. Lydia's mind remained on Chico and how he begged for Lydia to lie to him in the end. Another death to have dwell in the back of her mind. At least Klein had some company.

* * *

 **July 18, 1983: 14:00**

Pequod took his time getting back. He was overly cautious and made sure Lydia was one-hundred percent before leaving the whaling ship and returning to base. When Pequod finally landed on Mother Base, Lydia opened the cargo door and slid out. She was greeted by Kaz who's face instantly fell. Lydia ran her hair through her hair that was cut just under her shoulders. "Something's different…" Kaz noted. His eyes fell to her bandaged left cheek and ear. "Are you ok?" Four other Diamond Dog troops jogged up and helped Pequod carry out the body bags from the stow-away.

"Let's talk somewhere else." Lydia motioned to Kaz. "Guys, make sure you collect a DNA sample from the both of them before you cremate them."

"Yes ma'am!" The four men acknowledged as they wheeled away the bagged bodies on two separate stretchers.

Kaz held out his arm and placed it on the small of Lydia's back as he guided her below deck and toward their room. Kaz scanned open the door and watched her carefully maneuver to the bed and set down on the edge of it. Kaz shut and locked the door before standing in front of her. Lydia leaned forward, drained, and rested her forehead on Kaz's abdomen. She shut her eyes and felt Kaz glide his fingers through her short hair. "What happened?" Kaz stepped back and positioned himself on the bed next to her.

"A lot." Lydia frowned and looked at Kaz through the corner of her eye. "I uhhh…it's hard to say. Actually, it's harder to believe."

"Shoot." Kaz urged her to speak.

"It was _Chico_." She spoke slowly. She turned her head and looked at Kaz. She saw his eyebrows raise, but was unsure of his expression behind the aviators. "He was capturing and skinning women that resembled Paz so he could 'keep her alive'." Kaz's bottom lip trembled. Not sure if it was out of anger or sadness. "He was sewing skin onto Paz's dead body. He told me they washed ashore together. She apparently passed not too long after." Lydia frowned. "All our guys are dead. All of the missing girls are dead…but they were all accounted for. The locals are working on taking down all the traps Chico set up. I…"

"You can stop." Kaz bit his bottom lip and clenched his fists. Abruptly, he stood up from the bed and walked to the door. Lydia watched him carefully. His shoulders rose and fell as he breathed deeply through his nostrils. Kaz turned his head to the side as if to say something. His mouth parted but the words didn't come out. His hand pressed on the red button to let him out of the room. As the door slid open, Kaz sighed and slowly maneuvered his way out of the room.

Lydia stared at the door with her bright green eyes as it shut tight. The air in the room turned cold as she was left there alone. A transparent haze filled Lydia's vision as tears welled inside her ducts. Lydia sucked in air through her teeth and let her head fall in her hands. "God dammit, pull yourself together." Lydia choked out and glided her fingers over her scalp. "This is a waste of your damn time." She stood up from the bed and walked to the small bathroom. She stared at herself in the mirror, the first time she was able to catch a look of herself in days.

Her left cheek was swollen and red under the bandage that hid the deep gash, her eye was coming off of a dark bruise and she didn't even want to take the bandage off her ear to see the damage on that. With hesitation, Lydia pulled off both bandages and frowned at the sight. Her left ear had been split nearly in half from the perfect slice Chico hit her with. It seemed she had a scar for everything, now.

After Lydia took a shower, avoiding touching the open wounds, she re-dressed her wounds and changed into casual fatigues. With every intent to go out to the base level, Lydia ended up collapsing on the bed and stuffed her face one of the two pillows.

Lydia woke close to 23:00 and sighed deeply upon looking at the clock. A cuss slipped from her lips as she pushed herself off the bed. She walked out of her quarters and examined Kazuo's closed-off room. He was in there, probably sleeping sound. Not wanting to disturb her son, Lydia walked out of the command quarters and out to the primary command level.

She hiked up a few flights of stairs and weaved her way through the dormant construction sites. The night air was chilly as the wind blew gently around her. She made her way to the top of the command tower and stared out into the vast, open ocean. The moon was bright in the sky and illuminated the waves that crashed on top one another. The stars were blinking above, giving a show to the world.

Regret toppled over Lydia as the waves toppled into Mother Base. Lydia looked back to the stars reflecting themselves as if they were all dead eyes watching her every move. A familiar tune laced through Lydia's mind as she closed her eyes to reminisce. "Funny but it's true what loneliness can do." Lydia scoffed as the familiar words left her lips. She opened her green eyes and tranced out into the crimson ocean. Countless bodies floated amongst one another as a deep orange blaze ignited on the horizon.

A large plane flew overhead out of control. Lightning cracking and striking every inch of it. "Pull your 'chute on three." Lydia whispered as she watched the plane crash and explode into the growing pool of corpses. Her left thigh radiated with pain as the scars running down the right side of her body tingled with static sensation. Lydia massaged her right wrist with her left fingers, feeling the indentations of the bounds etch into her skin. Her eyes slowly floated to the base platform on deck and locked gazes with Volgen who was knee-deep in bloodied and burned soldiers.

Lightning cracked and spastically travelled through the sky. Lydia closed her eyes and took in a deep breath before she heard explosions. Vibrations rumbled at her feet before her body felt cold as if she was submerged in ice. When her eyes opened, the sky was maroon and absorbed the color of the bright flames that engulfed Mother Base. Lydia's right hand floated to her stomach and was met with a sticky substance. She looked down and took her hand off her abdomen to see sticky blood stretch between her hand and stomach.

Lydia clenched her fists and pressed her back against the cold metal wall behind her. Her heart ached as she stared down at Volgen, Klein holding on to a small, lifeless baby, and now Chico who now haunted her. Their eyes reflected off the red moon as they stared at her, zombified. Lydia gritted her teeth together and tightly shut her eyes. Her hands grabbed ahold of the wast-high metal barricade in front of her. She squeezed the top of the wall hard as she let out an agonizing yell. The tears in her eyes stung as the memories flushed her mind. She screamed a second time, but this time was cut short as she choked on sobs. Gravity pulled her down to her knees as she collapsed to the metal floor.

Lydia groaned as she hunched her back over and let out tears from her swollen, numb eyes. The torment of grief finally gave way and sucked Lydia into a void. War, death and devastation finally consumed her and without holding back, Lydia let it hammer away.


End file.
